SUPER IMPORTANT! Okay not super important, but please, this is going to add to the story. There are two scenes in this chapter that I came up with solely by listening to music. When you see this:
**PN**
It means "Play Now", they're links that plays a soundtrack that, in my opinion, goes PERFECTLY with the scene. Trust me. I am BEGGING you, open the link in a new tab and just keep reading the story, each link takes you to a certain point in the song (No I don't make you listen to the whole thing) just open the link in a new tab and let the song play from where I set it while you keep reading. Okay, chapter begins now!
There he hung. A full mile beneath the surface, he hung suspended in a cavern with shackles chaining his wrists and ankles. His bindings, laced with spells, extending into the darkness, holding true and unbroken. The spells of his own making keeping him alive and slumbering in his hibernation. There he hung. Waiting.
Waiting for his patience to finally yield its rewards. For every step in his plan to finally come full circle. For what he had fantasized about to become reality. He dangled in the pitch-black chasm he had fashioned for his resting place; a gargantuan cave hollowed out in the deepest layer of Earth. This served as his abode as he waited in his self-induced coma.
Then it came. The first stage of his beautiful dream began.
He snapped awake as he heard the gorgeous sound of screaming echoing against the cavern walls, the stench of blood now intoxicating him. Oh, how he longed for it. His back arched in euphoria as he could hear the sound of bones shattering and muscles ripping apart. He threw his head back as his whole body rejoiced in ecstasy to the piercing screech of agony ringing across his ears. Then, just as he predicted, it materialized in front of him.
A large glob of swirling blood appeared and floated towards him, its horrific aroma slipping into his nostrils. He let his long, pointed tongue roll out of his lolling maw to drink in his most beloved and long overdue meal. Impatient as he was, he relished in its slow progress as he could feel his mouth water with saliva in anticipation. Before it was even a foot away, his tongue extended further and sucked the entire pint of blood down his throat with a single gulp. In his bliss, he licked his chops as he could feel the delicious tang rush down his gullet, Gods how he could savor it. His son’s blood truly was the most delicious thing he ever knew.
Even though he’d only been awake for less than a minute, he was suddenly exhausted. The creature hung his head and breathed heavily, his muscular chest rising and falling in sync with his heaves. His demented chortle began to sound throughout the cavern.
It worked. How he managed to pull it off? He had had no idea. It didn’t matter though, it worked. All the scrolls, or at least one of them, was perfectly intact. Even though his powers were linked directly to all ten of them, just one of them being activated was enough to wake him from his slumber.
Just as he predicted; Discord managed to get his hands on at least one of the scrolls. Much like the creature currently suspended in its self-imprisonment, the scrolls powers lay dormant until it drank the blood of the Draconequus.
He had enchanted each scroll to drink in the blood of any and all Draconequui foolish or demented enough to dare come in contact with one of them. Upon sucking in their fluid, the scroll would teleport the new concoction to its destination; the chasm. Now that the creature himself had drank the blood of a draconequus as well, his powers slowly began to awaken; it was only a matter of time before they would return to their full extent.
That wasn’t his reason for his delight though, his real reason for rejoicing; was Discord.
Now that one of the ten scrolls were active, it was only a matter of time before it awakened the first stage of Discord’s power, giving him the strength to recover the remaining nine. Once all ten were active, nothing would survive. The very essence of Discord’s sanity would be torn down to allow his full might to ravage the living world. But it took more than just a few drops of blood for the scroll to take its effect upon Discord. No, Discord’s rage had to be triggered in order for the spells to seep into his body and remove the restraints keeping him tame. If Discord so much as yelled, it would activate.
Yes, if that was the case, he would begin the first stage of his transformation within the next few hours.
Excitium threw his head back and roared in insane laughter. Discord’s transformation was at hand.
---
Discord and the girls soared over the clouds towards the mountains now peaking over horizon, the mating grounds of the dragons. The trio was still rattled by the events of the previous night, but had endured similar encounters in the past and pressed on with their expedition. Discord’s hand had fully healed and, as far as he knew, had zero side effects from the scroll so he tried to dismiss the episode.
Celestia kept the black cylinder inside her pack, tightly sealed away by well over a dozen spells, because, after all, Keeping the scroll with them was much safer than abandoning it at the campfire. The way they saw it, they had two options. A) Leave a demonic scroll in an uncharted land in the middle of absolutely nowhere for any unsuspecting traveler to stumble across WHILE it had the blood of an overpowered sorcerer trapped inside. Or B) They, the most powerful creatures in existence, guard it for now and later return it to the most powerful and defended city in the world for safe keeping.
‘B’ seemed like a better decision.
Their first order of business should have been to turn right back around and return the scroll to its brothers and sisters, but after careful consideration, they decided to wait and see if the scroll posed anymore of a threat BEFORE they returned it to a heavily populated city ruled by their increasingly paranoid father. So, they kept a watchful eye on the artifact but pressed on with their journey.
“We’re getting kind a close to the breeding grounds” said Luna “Don’t you think we should start flying lower so they don’t see us coming?”
Discord waved it off “Nah, doubt they’ll even bother to look up.” He put both arms behind his head and thrusted his hips comedically “They’ll be too busy slammin-“
Celestia slammed a hoof into Discord’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
The Draconequus wheezed and clutched his stomach in pain “Okay, I deserved that.” He conceded.
“Damn right you did” Celestia grumbled in anger and embarrassment.
“Come on,” he whined “We were all thinking it. But really though, I think what we really need to worry about is their sense of smell. All those dragons in one place, if they smell anything other than the stench of smoke and scales, they’re going to be thrown on full alert.”
Discord snapped his fingers and three rings quickly appeared and reappeared around them in a puff of smoke.
“Boom.” He said proudly “All the reeking smells of two Alicorns and the pleasant aroma of a Draconequus gone. Now we put off a scent that is less noticeable than the air you’re breathing.”
Celestia pouted and rolled her eyes.
The trio had reached the gradual rise to the mountain range. Going for a stealth approach, the three stopped flapping their wings and let themselves glide down across the tips of the ever-growing altitude of land.
Celestia looked at her two companions “From what I could tell from the map, there should be a large area of flat land a few miles into the mountains.” She said “This whole mountain range makes a giant circle with a clearing in the middle of it all, perfect for nesting.”
“And considering how massive dragons can get, a valley in the middle of a mile-high landscape sounds like prime real-estate.” Added Discord.
“Sounds like a hotspot for horny lizards to me.” Said Luna
Discord jabbed an open palm towards Luna and looked at Celestia with his jaw hanging open “Hey! How come you punched me and not her?”
Celestia responded by slamming another a hoof in Discord’s stomach.
The entire mountain range seemed to make one massive dome shaped elevation, each row of the rocky spires reached even higher than their predecessors as the elevation increased. The layers of foliage and density of the trees coating the mountains diminished more and more as the three flew deeper into the uncharted landscape. After only a few miles, the entire mountain range was barren and not even long-distance birds dared to travel further. They were in the domain of dragons.
With mute scenery and zero talking, Discord’s mind was left to confront his inner demons. He didn’t really care about the prospect of dragons when all he could think about was the satanic, blood sucking, scroll they now had to watch. Gods, he hated the idea of having to carry it around. The fact that it was strong enough to rip a hole in his hand AND resist his magic was one thing, but having it flash the words from his nightmares was quite another.
Discord could easily endure the memories of his tortured childhood filled with endless attempts on his life by ponies, but he did everything in his power not to think about his dreams when he was conscious. All four of his reoccurring nightmares had two things in common; dead bodies and blood on his hands, not a good combination for a guy with a deteriorating mental state.
Discord knew his four dreams too well. Every night they would play in sequential order, a sick performance that loved to dance on the limits of his sanity. Each nightmare always had him envision the aftermath of the slaughter of thousands, all dead by his hands.
The first dream he knew was a vision of his past. He would float in a sea of blood that seemed to lap at his own skin. After realizing where he was, he would see hundreds of corpses bobbing up and down in the red ocean, each their faces frozen in a permanent expression of horror and agony. What chilled him to the bone was; they were his own species, Draconequui. Discord had never seen a Draconequus in his entire life, yet here they all were soaking in a sea of their own blood. Discord knew one thing though; he was the one who killed them. When, why, or even how? He never knew. After realizing what he had done, he would look around to see that the sea of blood was actually underground in a pitch-black chasm. Inscribed on one of the far-end walls was the six words that were now glowing on the scroll he and the sisters carried. He never knew what the phrase said, nor did he even know how to decipher it. And now it existed in the real world.
The second dream was more gruesome but somehow even more vague than the first. When the vision began, Discord would always feel an insatiable bloodlust and anger overtake his being. Without knowing where he was or what he was doing, he charged wildly in a haze at a horde of giants, decapitating everything in sight. Just, what were these giant creatures? He could never even make out the poor species that was unfortunate enough to feel his magic in full force.
As quick as the second dream was, it ended. Now his personal hell began.
The third dream is what horrified him throughout most of his childhood; a horrific vision that he could never make any sense of. He floated over a smoldering plain, a once peaceful meadow that now laid as a burning wasteland. In front of him floated a perfect copy of himself; height, complexion, and all. His duplicate stared back at him, grinning wickedly without saying a word. It just floated there in front of him, almost mocking him with its sick smile. Discord always tried to force himself awake at this part; he knew what came next.
The clone started to cackle and morphed into the form of different Draconequus, one Discord didn’t recognize. Not ten seconds after it began to laugh, it started to gurgle and a disgusting rotting smell filled the air. Discord could only cringe as the laughing Draconequus quickly decayed into a rotting corpse. Its fur fell off it in large wads. Its skin decomposed and peeled of its muscles and bones as chunks of fat and meat fell off in great chunks. Discord swallowed hard every time he saw its eyes roll back and eventually slip out the back of its now open skull that decomposed with the rest of it. When the creature was almost nothing but a bloody skeleton, it fell to the ground and into a chasm that opened in the earth moments before the remains reached the surface. Once the carcass was free-falling deep into the crevice, it immediately sealed itself. Disgusting.
Now it was his turn.
Discord braced himself as he could feel himself began the process he had just witnessed. His own body began to rot, and he had learned long ago to close his eyes for this. His skin began to crack and his own body fell apart in a disgusting display of decomposition. And unlike the Draconequus he saw before him, his body didn’t fall into any cavern. No, his body ignited up into a blazing inferno the moment before his bones fell apart. Fortunately for him, he never could feel pain in his dreams. The process was horrific, but at least he never had to know the feeling of his own body decomposing or lighting up in flames. Not that he could take comfort in that fact.
Now the fourth and final dream began… and gods he prayed it wasn’t what he thought it was.
No vile or gore plagued this dream like the ones before, but it was by far the one that haunted him the most. Discord was in combat with the outline of two alicorns that rushed at him relentlessly, each wielding a large battle axe that swung at him by the use of their magic. Discord had no control over his actions, his body moved on its own… and without any mercy. Both his foes were incredibly skilled warriors that moved at blinding speeds and that expertly struck with such force that any other creature would have been overpowered in seconds. But Discord was now in a league he never thought possible. He wielded such immense power in this nightmare that he could barely even understand it. Not a few moments into the dream, yet he already overpowered them and held them by the throat in each hand.
And he was terrified.
Discord could feel a satanic power coursing through his body. His new level of power had surpassed the level of a god and he was using it at its full force, no, it was using him at his full force. The darkness that rushed through his veins was that of an unspeakable evil that warped his mind. He had no control of his body or even his thoughts. All he could think about was to destroy and kill; starting with the two creatures squirming in his clutches.
“NO!” he screamed in his own mind.
They were innocent, whoever the two that were facing him he could sense they were pure. He knew that whatever he had done in this vision was horrific and was deserving of this assault. The darkness and insanity that moved him like a puppet was hellish and darker than anything he ever faced in the real world. It was the epitome of evil.
The two creatures kicked and thrashed helplessly in his grasp, knowing their impending doom. With a strong squeeze and a frantic scream of horror from Discord, he disintegrated the two of his victims.
Those were the four dreams that tormented him. All of them involved death, destruction, and him not being able to control his actions. In the real world, the fabric of space was his play thing. But every night in his dreams? He was a helpless mannequin puppeteered by his horrific visions; unable to stop himself from hurting others or defending himself from his fears. What were the two beings he killed in his last dream? He knew they were alicorns but he never could make out just who they were.
For most of his life he never thought much of the fourth dream, it wasn’t until he met Celestia and Luna that he truly began to fear it. But last night? It began to haunt him like a demon. He had to accept the simple fact, the dream was probably prophesizing him killing the sisters.
Discord’s train of thought was broken by an earsplitting rumble.
A loud roar echoed across the mountain tops, sending the Discord and the Alicorns bolting onto one of the peaks for cover. Discord, not paying attention, landed wrong and pierced his lion paw on a sharp rock, causing him to curse loudly in pain. A jolt of energy shot down his entire arm.
His blood ran cold “Damn it all.” He thought to himself
Discord felt a spark of magic shoot across the back of his hand, a power not unlike the evil energy he felt the night before. It was just as he feared, the scroll had left its trace on him. He wasn’t sure if damaging the skin simply let a small amount of remaining magic release or if the scroll had bonded a certain spell to him. Whichever it was didn’t matter, there was a foreign energy inside himself and he didn’t pick up on it. That was NEVER a good sign.
Celestia looked at him concerned “Are you alright?”
The Draconequus yanked the shard of rock out of his hand and flexed his palm to regain movement “Yeah, I’m fine.” He lied.
Another roar shook the entire the mountain range.
The sisters and Discord clung even closer to the cliffside they hid on, hair standing on end in both shock and anticipation; dragons. In all their journeys, only a single creature could make a sound so earsplitting, and by the sounds of it, this one was close.
Discord shook away his dark thoughts and turned his gaze to the Alicorns with a crazy grin “Turns out your map wasn’t a bust, Luna.”
Luna tightened the strap securing her pack. “Was there ever any doubt?”
Celestia looked ahead cautiously “That one sounded close. If it’s roaring, that must mean there’s more nearby. We need to stay low to the ground…” She looked at Discord “And not draw any attention to ourselves.”
Discord pressed his fingers against his chest in fake offense “Tia, I’m the most subliminal being in the world.”
The three of them slipped off their perch and glided ahead.
---
The ponies and Spike watched the trio fly silently across the mountain range.
“Okay, I’m not even following any of this. what the heck just happened to Discord’s hand?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“He almost triggered the scroll.” Answered Luna.
“I’d ask what that means, but I’m guessing you’re just going to tell us anyways.” Said the pegasus.
Celestia grimaced “When the scroll impaled Discord’s hand, it actually implanted thousands of releasing spells inside of him. By putting him through physical pain and actually opening up his body, it was able to infect him with a barrage of curses that were set to activate at a moment’s notice.”
“Activate how?” questioned Twilight, not taking her eyes off the images playing before her.
Luna stepped in “Dark magic can be activated without a pony’s consent if they undergo intense physical or emotional stress. Discord was meant to activate the curses of the scroll of his own free will but instead he resisted them. When Discord pierced his hand on the rock just then WHERE the scroll also stabbed him, it was almost enough to trigger the spells.”
“That’s another thing.” Added Spike “You keep saying it implanted him with spells and curses. Did that scroll give him dark power or something?”
Luna shook her head “Just the opposite, it gave him the lack of power.”
“Alright, now I’m completely lost. It gave him the power to have the lack of power?” Responded Pinkie Pie.
Celestia rubbed her temple after realizing she and her sister weren’t pacing this right. “Here, let me rephrase that. As you know, Discord never stays at his full strength. In fact, throughout most his life, he’s never gone beyond ten percent his maximum power.”
“In fact, when he was ruling Equestria, he didn’t even break thirty percent.” Added Luna
“But why?” asked Twilight “Did he simply not need it?”
Luna shook her head “No, it was for his own sanity. Almost all of Discord’s power is sealed away inside of him because he simply can’t control such an enormous pool of dark magic. All forms of magic affect the user in some shape or form, but dark magic can do serious damage if used too much. However, the darker the magic is, the more effect it has on the mental state of the user” She grimaced “I sadly learned that first hand.”
Twilight started to put the pieces together “So since Discord possesses a storage of magic larger than all Alicorns and unicorns combined… and that almost ALL of it is dark magic…”
“Using even half of it would corrupt his mind beyond repair.” Finished Celestia “Hence why seals were placed upon him to lock it away inside of him.”
“And those scrolls were…” continued Spike.
“the keys to unlocking those restraints. Driving Discord to insanity and unleashing havoc upon the world.” Said Luna
Fluttershy flinched at hearing that.
“So wait, those scrolls had no magic in them at all? They just worked as a way to keep Discord from restraining himself?” asked Rainbow Dash.
Celestia nodded “Exactly, each one would release a portion of Discord’s power, hence why this day was so important.”
“Why, what happens?” asked Fluttershy.
“This is the day Discord first lost control.” Said Luna.
---
These weren’t dragons. These were titans.
The map telling of the dragon’s breeding grounds was, in a way, true. Yes, it had brought them to a breeding ground of dragons, but it didn’t say anything about them being this massive! In all their adventures and rare encounters with dragons, Discord and the sisters had never seen these beasts grow to be above a hundred feet. But these guys? Ha! Forget it, these desired breeders were easily above two hundred, if not three.
As it turned out, there was a field of flat land deep within the mountain range large enough to fit an entire city. The entire plain was safely encompassed by the large mountains reaching to the clouds not leaving a single spot to enter by foot, the only way to this secret ground was by flight.
This was the breeding grounds of the dragons and once a century, hundreds of them from across the world migrated to this one spot to battle for a mate.
And what a battle it was.
Male dragons were paired off in a violent brawls, fighting with borderline intent to kill. If two separate scuffles came to close to each other, the duelists would target the new sentients and drag them into their fray. Anytime this happened, some of the more docile dragons would see the fight and join into the twisted frenzy. I short, they were all completely bloodthirsty.
The females had an easier role. Anytime a male dragon dominated enough opponents or emerged victorious from one of the mosh pits, he’d saunter proudly over to which ever female he had his eyes on who always seemed quite eager to ‘accept’ him.
Discord and the girls looked on the entire scene is disbelief. The three had touched down on one of the mountains rimming the valley, hugging the flat surface on the top of the spire. They had taken extra care to not be heard and more importantly, not be seen.
“So yeah, um…” Started Luna.
“They’re a lot bigger than we expected, right?” asked a nervous Celestia.
“And I don’t mean to judge” Discord jabbed his thumb to a motionless, defeated dragon “but these guys are insane.”
Most dragons were smart enough to accept their defeat and brooded away from their opponent, but a few proud ones were too stupid to submit and got themselves killed. Hence the reason there were a few dozen corpses strewn across the entire plain.
Celestia looked at her companions “Okay, I think we speak for all of us on this. We usually like to play with the sharks and dance with the fire… but considering the fact that there’s at least a thousand murderous dragons down there...”
“Way ahead of you.” Said Luna, “We’re staying with our flanks firmly placed on this ledge.”
Discord, the cocky sorcerer he was, would commonly interject to such a statement, assuring the sisters that no dragon could never even pose an inconvenience to him. This was different though, there was an entire army of them out there and each one of the deranged reptiles clearly wasted no time going in for a kill. More importantly though…
His magic was beginning to act up. Discord rubbed his neck in pain as he felt another jolt of the dark magic shoot through his body.
Discord never had any trouble controlling his magic. Every time he called upon it, it faithfully obeyed his every will, but now? What was it even doing? The better question; what was it even doing to him? Discord could feel the back of his neck throbbing and his muscles contorting, his energy sparking and ricocheting inside his body. Discord knew for sure something welling up inside him. He looked at the two sisters and debated on telling them, with the horde of dragons beneath him and now his magic becoming more and more unpredictable, it seemed like a good time to call this whole trip off.
“SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
The trio jumped out of their skins as a massive screech erupted from right behind them. The three spun around to see-
“Dammit…”
They’d been found. A dragon flapped above them, roaring furiously and alerting nearby dragons. Out of a reflex developed over decades of abuse, Discord reacted the fastest.
“Shut up!” He yelled, blasting it in the head with a spell strong enough to disintegrate a normal pony, but only temporarily blinding the beast. He cursed in agony, another jolt of dark magic shot through his body causing all his muscles to freeze up.
“Guys!” stammered Luna. The dragons who had heard the screech were completely locked in on the intruding trio and began to flare their wings. Discord quickly made a headcount, thirteen in total were facing them. The other few thousand of the dragons in the valley were too busy brawling for mates to notice or care. A group of thirteen dragons were manageable for him, but with his magic resisting him and the entire dragon species beneath him, he couldn’t risk a fight, he was teleporting them out. He snapped his fingers.
Nothing.
“Oh No…”
He snapped again. No response.
“Do NOT do this right now.”
He snapped feverishly, but his magic refused to answer him.
“Guys!” repeated Luna frantically as she illuminated her horn. All thirteen dragons shot into the air.
Celestia took charge “Go for the wings! Keep them grounded”
Forget that, Discord was immensely strong physically, but his fighting style worked entirely off of his magic, and in his current condition, he was useless. Forget fighting, they were running.
“Don’t risk it!” he commanded “Fall back!”
He turned around only to get a blast of fire in the face.
“Shit!” He swore for the first time in years.
His reflexes failed him, but his magic was able to pick up the slack. A yellow barrier of light blasted into existence to protect the three of them, redirecting the flames back at the unseen assailants. Discord counted himself lucky that, even though his magic refused to answer him, it at least continued to protect him of its own accord.
“What was that?!” yelled Luna.
“Late arrivals…” grumbled Celestia.
A group of twenty dragons had flown up behind them, late arrivals. Discord swallowed hard. The three of them were surrounded.
“Take them down!” shouted Celestia. The sisters took to the air.
Discord tried to move but his entire body refused to obey him.
*Come on* he screamed in his mind *MOVE!”
His senses muddled, his eye sight completely fogged, the last audible thing he could make out was Celestia calling to him. An unnatural fear overtook him, for the first time in nearly a decade, he cowered. He covered his head, his hands grabbed a fist a fur on the back of his head as his senses continued to deplete. He fell to his knees; every ounce of his energy was sucked out of him. Why? Why was this happening? Why was he shutting down?
A pair of dragons rocketed down to him, but he was too far gone to realize it.
“Get away from me…” he stammered. Tears welled in his eyes.
The moment the last of his magic drained, the dark magic in the scroll sparked to life.
“Please…” he sobbed.
It was too late, the too dragons released an inferno of flames that blasted Discord clean off the mountain side.
Celestia did a double take.
Discord limp body was sent careening into the valley; his entire body engulfed in fire.
She screeched in horror “Discord!”
She screamed in agony as she felt the tail of a dragon slam into her, snapping a rib and sending her hurtling after Discord. The split second she took to see Discord was the only window the dragons needed to overwhelm her. With Celestia out of the picture, Luna was overpowered the exact same second, a powerful slash from a dragon’s claw pierced her underbelly and spewed blood across her attacker. The two sisters plunged into the valley.
Celestia, dazed as she was, managed to muster a tiny amount of magic to break her and her sisters fall. They survived, but the force of impact was more than enough to knock them unconscious.
Discord laid broken in the field, the skirmish was more than enough to alert the entire mating grounds and every dragon now looked at his singed body ready to kill. His senses were too lost for him to notice though… where was he?
His vision began to file, he was going to pass out. It didn’t matter, he couldn’t die… he was never given that sweet release… this is exactly what tortured him his whole life. No matter how awful this world was, no matter who tried to kill him, no matter what hatred was exacted upon him… he could never escape this hell.
Why? Why was he cursed? What could he do to finally die? He would give anything to mortal… He wanted to be able to die…
He saw something slam into the ground right next to him. Probably a dragon who would no doubt try to kill him, whatever, what it was didn’t matter to him… nothing mattered to him. It could on-
Wait. No, he turned his head. It wasn’t a dragon. It was… was that a horse? Wait. He slowly came to his senses. He knew who this was, he’d seen her somewhere before. His mind snapped back to his control.
“CELESTIA!?”
His vision came back to focus, she and Luna were splayed before him broken and bloodied. The dragons who first assaulted them landed a hundred feet away.
“Celestia!” he yelled again. He dragged himself over to her. He cried her name again, no response.
“Luna!” he screamed.
He cradled the white Alicorn’s head in his arms. Her bruised and broken body laid limp in his lap. His fur had been completely burned off, and his magic couldn’t be used to heal her. He mustered what little energy he could to shake her. Tears began to run down his face.
“Celestia…” he sobbed.
A trickle of blood began to stream out of her nose. She, she couldn’t... He looked over at Luna, her innocent body was even more defiled. Three massive gashes had blood streaming out of her. They... They couldn’t be…
The dragons seemed to relish in his agony, slowly advancing to drink in every moment of the kill.
Discord pressed his forehead against Celestia’s. Why? His despair enveloped him. Why was this world so cruel? He lived a life of constant agony and torture; and the only thing that pulled him out of the flames of hell... now laid dead in his arms. He couldn’t end his own life to join them and, in his infinite power, couldn’t cast a single spell to bring either of them back. All he could ever do was destroy… never heal... never save. The only two things he ever loved now laid dead before him.
---
Excitium’s hair stood on end.
He grinned “Give in…”
---
The dragons now loomed over Discord, Luna, and the hero he loved.
“I failed you…” whispered Discord. He had all the power in the world but failed to protect the only thing that mattered to him, and when they needed him most, he choked. No… No, he didn’t choke... No, this wasn’t his fault!
He gritted his teeth as his despair began to turn into fury. This wasn’t his fault, it was the damn magic that festered within him! It always tortured him! His power is what drew ponies to attack him his whole life. His magic is what always healed him when he was at death’s door and just wanted the void to take him. His magic is what tormented his mind every night; fueling and detailing his nightmares. His magic was why he could never live a life of peace, why he was always running, why he lived in constant fear, why he could never be with Celestia…
He clenched his fist so tightly his claws drew blood from his palms.
And now… the only time in his entire tormented life that he needed it, it failed him. Why? Why was this his life? What cursed him? Why was this existence? Was the reason he couldn’t die simply because he was already in Hell?
A dragon opened its maw, the stench of the rotting remains of its past victim pouring past its teeth.
The dark magic that lived within him sparked to life.
Tears of agony welled in his eyes. In all his pain, he still lived a life of restraint, never killing a single person by choice and showing mercy to all who asked for it. Not anymore.
He snapped his head up with fire burning in his eyes. Not anymore. Forget mercy, forget compassion, and above all else; forget forgiveness. Forget all of it.
The dark magic within Discord roared into a blistering inferno, his despair shattered into an unyielding rage, a horrific power raced through his body. He slammed a fist to the ground.
“You took the only thing that ever mattered to me… I have no reason to spare you” he hissed
The magic within the scroll continued to overtake him, his rage turned into hatred, bloodlust stemmed from his pain and turned into a destructive lust for destruction. His life no longer had any meaning, there was no need to preserve this world… The last of his sanity was consumed by the scroll. There was nothing left in this world for him.
He snapped.
“I’ll slaughter you all!!” He roared
Black energy exploded from his body, disintegrating the twelve dragons that surrounded him and the sisters. Every dragon in the valley roared in fury and flapped into the air. Discord lost all sentience as the dark magic that laid dormant for over a decade consumed his mind.
Discord levitated into the air with both his arms outstretched. The skies darkened to a pitch black as a red aura completely enveloped the maddened Draconequus. His wounds sealed shut while an unfathomable power gushed through him for the first time in eleven years. He clenched his fists and snapped his head down as his entire body distorted into a monster’s. Discord’s fur and scales saturated into a jet black, His eyes flashed red, his wings illuminated and grew to twice the size of his entire body, the ridges on his tail sharpened into blades. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as his gums tore and his teeth sharpened into fangs. Discord shot back to his full height sending a blast of black magic in every direction, his wings flared revealing their full size, blood dripped out his mouth as a sadistic grin rippled past his lips. All sense of reason and mortality left him, the darkness of the magic had full control over him.
Discord cackled as his voice converted into a horrific rumble “You shall share in my pain.”
A dragon made the mistake of spending its last moments charging him. Discord stretched an open palm at his attacker. The dragon froze in place as it screeched in agony. Grinning with malice, Discord slowly closed his palm, delighting in the suffering of his victim. The dragon slowly collapsed in on itself, the sounds of its bones shattering and its ribs piercing its own organs echoed across the walls of the valley. Discord flicked his wrist and the dragon’s mouth ripped in two, the jaw bone hung slack and the skull ripped backwards, the dragon’s suffering ended as the sound of blood gurgling in its throat halted. Discord opened his hand again and the mound of twisted flesh and scourge splattered on the ground.
Most of the dragons screeched in horror and took to the air to escape such a horrible fate, others were frozen in place by fear, a select few rushed to try and kill him. Discord laughed at both his handiwork in murder and at the thought of dragons running in fear.
Discord pressed his fingers together to snap, Excitium’s voice echoed through his “There is no escape.”
Discord snapped and a massive barrier appeared that surrounded the valley. Thousands of dragons slammed into it and clawed at it desperately to break through. Discord turned his attention to a dragon that was almost on top of him. Discord swiped his arm vertically and the dragon’s eyes rolled into the back of its head. It split perfectly in two as it’s organs spilled to the ground, blood spewed out of its body as it rocketed past Discord; coating him in thick, red gore.
The dragons frantically trying to escape screamed in terror and tore at the barrier even faster, but in vain. A few dragons that attempted to attack him immediately lost all their courage and turned tail to run for their lives.
Discord slammed his goat hoof into the ground, the whole surface shook and pillars of rock erupted from underneath the earth. The spikes impaled the dozens of dragons charging Discord with expert precision, none of them died on impact, they were spared death just long enough to suffer for Discord’s amusement.
He chased those who ran: tearing them apart with his bare hands, exploding them with spells, corrupting their minds to eat each other alive, burning them to death with white flames, turning them inside out, even making a select few vomit out their entire bodies.
Discord whirled around the valley, killing a few hundred every ten seconds. The moment he saw living soul, it stopped existing. The magic puppeteered Discord’s body as he remained unconscious in his state of limbo. His powers were being used as they were designed by Excitium nearly half a century ago; to be used for the extinction of life. The poor Draconequus’s body moved of its own accord, he himself was unconscious, yet he was still tormented by the loss of the ones he loved.
Who just regained consciousness.
Celestia’s head was on fire, her ears were ringing, and had to blink at lightspeed to regain her vision. Where was she? There was supposed to b- Luna! Discord! Where were they?! She remembered seeing Discord hurtling into the valley and everything went black. She tried to struggle to her feet but cried out in pain, she had a broken leg… at the very least. But where were the others? Celestia rolled over despite the pain. Luna was splayed out before her, she had been slashed, but not fatally. But where was- What in Tartarus?!
The carcasses, if you could call them that, of dragons littered the landscape. Masses of flesh and vile laid in slops that turned the rocks and grass red. The stench of death and macabre assaulted her senses causing her to gag. Her heart raced, where was Discord? She frantically cried his name but she could barely hear anything other than the ringing in her ears.
She looked up and her fear turned into horror. Dragons were being cut down by the hundreds by a black creature flying across the valley. It danced in a terrifying display, dodging every attack that was thrown at it and counterattacking with enough force to decapitate its victim with a single swipe. As much as it disgusted her… she knew its name.
“Discord!”
The draconequus froze for a spilt second, that voice. His blistering fury released its control on him and his bloodlust was quenched entirely. His shoulders relaxed.
“Discord!” The voice called a second time
“Ce…les…t…ia” His voice was mixed with the voices of a hundred souls, but his gentle tone echoed past all of them. He looked down to the floor of the valley, his vision was distorted and blurred from the dark magic that possessed him but he could make out a white figure. There was no way… she could-
A sharp pain in his neck shot through his body, the magic was losing its control over his mind, but it wouldn’t let him slip through its fingers without a fight.
*They slaughtered the only thing you loved* It whispered into his ear *Every living creature has tortured you for no reason, you have been kind and you’ve shown mercy, what has it gotten you? Agony and only agony. *
“Discord please!” the voice echoed again in the distance.
He held his head in pain, it felt as if his skull was splitting in two “No…” He looked at the white blur on the ground hundreds of feet below him, what was that? He had no idea where he had seen it before, but something about it completely dissolved all his anguish and malice. “No…” His black fur began to return to its mahogany hue “Get out of me!”
*Discord please, let me protect you, if you let these creatures escape into the world, they’ll regroup and kill you! Let me help. * The magic cooed.
“No!” he thrashed in the air wildly as two forces of immense magic battled in his body “I won’t…” His teeth started to flatten back to their normal state “You are under my control! I command you!” He roared.
The magic snapped back *I AM you! And you have always belonged to me! *
His regression to his true self halted. His stomach contorted painfully as the darkness began to overpower the light.
“Stop!” His commands turned to pleas. He had to find out who the white creature was.
“Discord!” The distant voice screamed again.
*You WILL obey me! *
“Stop! Please!”
*You are MINE! *
Discord stopped clawing at his head. His fur turned back into black, his teeth filed into points, and his maniacal laughter returned.
“You’re right…” Discord thought “I can’t believe I doubted you.” He turned his attention to the remaining dragons, a few hundred was all that was left. His bloodlust and insanity came back full force “I will exterminate this whole world…” He grinned widely and lifted his blood-soaked hands “I am free.”
Discord pulled his arms in close as a dark energy manifested around him, the whole mountain range shook violently, the sounds of Discord’s cackle filled the valley. Many dragons gave into despair at the realization of their fate, a few desperately tried to punch through the barrier, some even tried to form words to beg for a quick death.
Discord roared as the magic around him exploded into a blast of black energy rocketed in every direction erasing everything in its path. The landscape burned away into a perfect sphere, the rocks evaporated, and the dragons disintegrated on impact as their wails and screams echoed across the valley and turned into silence. The decapitated remains of his victims were wiped clean from existence.
They were gone.
All except Celestia and Luna. In a last desperate move Celestia cast a protection spell taught to her by Discord. It mirrored his magic so his destructive energy must have mistaken her magic as its own and spared it. She couldn’t even fathom this, any of this! What was Discord!? How did he have this kind of power and how could he be so deranged to kill so many creatures!? She knew calling his name could end in her death… but if she could pull him out of this darkness…
She put what little energy she had into one shout “Discord!”
The Draconequus snapped his attention to the sound. Someone had survived? Impossible! He gritted his teeth in fury and spread his wings to assault his new target. But instead he fell to the ground, exhausted. This was the first time in over a decade the dark magic had completely possessed him so their link was far from perfect, and by doing a dry run with this much energy, it had burned right through him. Discord slammed into the surface, he had an immense pool of energy left over, well over enough to wipe out everything within the horizon, but he had pushed to much; he was spent.
“That’s it.” He thought to himself “That’s all I have.”
*No!* The voice within in him screamed *Kill that final creature!*
Celestia staggered, or more accurately, crawled towards Discord. He struggled to his feet and looked right through her, he didn’t even move, he just stared at her with his blood-red eyes. Despite his terrifying appearance and the horrific act he just committed, she didn’t falter.
*Kill her! Kill her now! * The magic screeched.
Discord refused to give *No… who is… Is that…? *
Celestia froze when a single word escaped his lips “Celestia?” He whispered in a voice much darker than his own.
She stumbled towards him more quickly now “Yes… Discord, yes! I’m here, you’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”
In a desperate final move to gain control over the poor soul again, the magic assaulted his mind again. Discord writhed in pain as he felt the darkness rush through him again, it put every bit of power it had left into this final push.
*Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!* it screamed frantically.
Celestia was now less than three feet away from him. There was no doubt about it, Discord was twice his regular size, his fur was blacker than night, and his maw hanged open as blood and thick saliva dripped out of it. He looked down at her without any sign of sentience accept the pulsating red eyes that bore through her.
“Discord, I don’t know what’s inside you…” she cautiously took a step forward “But I know it’s not you...”
Discord buried a foot in the ground and lunged towards her, both sets of claws shot forward to decapitate her. She inhaled and closed her eyes, bracing for excruciating pain, but it never came. She opened her eyes to see him looming over her with his claws shaking just inches away from her. She looked behind her to see if Luna had stunned him but she was still unconscious, Discord had stopped himself.
*How dare you defy me!?* His head pounded *Slaughter her!*
Discord’s entire body shook over her, he seemed to lean towards her with intent to kill but something held him back with the tension of a thread. She couldn’t lose him. She could lose everything… Her father, her kingdom, even her own life… but not him… Not Discord. She slowly raised a hoof to him “Discord…” she pleaded “I know you’re in there, and I know that someone as kind-hearted as you can’t do this of their own will.” She placed a hoof on his cheek and his contorted face relaxed immediately. “Whatever is inside of you, let it go… you don’t have to live is this much pain.” Her voice cracked “You have us, and as long we’re here, no one will ever hurt you.”
The voice in Discord’s head was immediately silenced.
“And as long as I have you, I know no one will ever hurt me.”
Celestia wrapped both her forelegs around his massive shoulders as tears streamed down her face. “Discord… please… I can’t imagine my life without you.”
Discord’s arms slowly closed around her, not to crush her… but to hold her. She exhaled as she felt his massive body surround her, his powerful arms cradling her and his gigantic wings enveloping the two of them. She rested her head against his chest and relaxed upon the familiar fluff that covered him. This moment is one she could spend all of eternity in, just the two of them embracing each other, nothing else in the world. She rested herself against him as the Draconequus began to shrink back to his normal size. His wings reverted from the grotesque size to the agile pair he always sported, his fur regained its natural color, his teeth blunted down to their normal shape, and his blood-red eyes returned to their brilliant purple. Celestia never let go of him, even as he transformed, she never broke their embrace.
Discord returned to his usual his size, his head reaching just above Celestia’s while she stood on her hind legs. She had to fight the urge to nuzzle his neck slightly when she felt his goatee brush against her head.
“Discord… Discord?” She felt his legs give way and saw his eyes roll into the back of his head. “Discord!” She jumped to catch the Draconequus who had forced too many spells. Discord fell to his knees and latched onto Celestia for support, he had nothing left.
He slowly raised his head with his eyes glazed over “Why… why won’t you let me die …” he said, thinking the magic still possessed him “Why won’t-“
He cut himself short when he saw Celestia looking down at him concerned. “Celestia?”
“Yes,” she said “I’m here Discord. I’m her-“
Her sentence was cut short by Discord grabbing onto her and sobbing hysterically. “No, you were dead! I saw you, you were dead!” He repeated that sentence repeatedly as Celestia only pulled him tighter. He looked up shakily as he looked over the scorched remains of the valley “Celestia… what have I done?” he cried.
Celestia’s entire body froze as that question, she thought Discord was being controlled when he went on that rampage… had he really been in control the entire time? “D-discord” there was a long pause “What do you remember?”
“Nothing! The last thing I saw was you dead right in front of me. I didn’t do any of this but it reeks of my magic!” he heaved.
Celestia thought of the horrific massacre he did only a few minutes earlier, how and why would he do something like this? It was unlike anything she had ever seen. One of the dragons alone was twice the size of anyone she had ever seen before and she hadn’t been able to take out a single one of them, but here Discord slaughtered the thousands of titans in only a few short minutes? There was no way it was him though, not because of the magic, but because of his actions. Discord never fatally injured ANY creature in their countless perils, but here he killed in the most deranged way she could ever fathom.
“What am I Celestia?” he wept “Just what am I? I can only destroy and kill. All the power in the world and I used it for this, I couldn’t protect you or Luna and I couldn’t protect those dragons from myself.” He brought his head up to look at the wasteland he had created “Why do I exist?”
“Discord…” she began, but she had nothing to comfort him with, she was too shocked to say anything.
He gathered up what little strength he could “If I can’t use my powers to defend you, I can at least give you what I have left.” He whispered. He sat up and weakly placed his lion paw against the back of her head. “Celestia…”
The sudden tender contact, though not at all unwanted, startled the Alicorn. Her words failed her as he… “Discord?”
He gently pulled her head towards him and pressed her forehead against his, slightly tilting her to avoid being stabbed by her horn. Their gazes never met, Celestia looked at him in shock and slight anticipation while he stared hollowly at the ground.
Without looking up her to her he spoke “My life is worth nothing to me, yours are worth everything.” He gently pressed his lion paw against her and pointed the open palm of his talon towards Luna. With gritted teeth, he made both illuminate dimly.
Before Celestia could even ask what he was doing, she suddenly felt a rush of energy flood from Discord’s hand into her body. Magic began to heal her battered flesh and repair her shattered bones. No! he was transferring what little energy he had left to the two of them to heal their injuries.
No! He had nothing left! By consuming his own magic and energy he was able to heal her and her sister, but what would happen to him!? She struggled to pull away but the Draconequus refused to let her go.
The magic quickly faded into a trickle and eventually stopped altogether. His powerful legs, sapped of all their strength, gave way. She, invigorated with the power he gave her, dashed just in time to catch her poor friend. He laid limp in her arms, his eyes closed, his arms dangling, his head laid back, jaws gaping, as still as… she pressed her ear to his breast to hear his still beating heart, slow and steady.
“Why?” she asked his unconscious body “Why? You stupid, idiotic, destructive… brave… selfless... magnificent fool.”
She heard Luna rustle slightly behind her. Not letting go of Discord’s crumpled body, whose head laid in her lap, she turned to her head to see he sister completely healed and fast asleep. Seeing her sister restored warmed her deeply, the two most important things in her world we safe.
She turned her attention back to the out-cold sorcerer breathing quietly in her lap. The creature that looked so innocent as he slumbered, had just massacred this entire valley… but she knew that wasn’t him. She had at least some ability to sense magic, and when his black form hung over her she felt two very separate presences of magic; one his and one unspeakably evil. They were connected… but not the same.
She hesitated slightly before her next action… she slowly began to trace her hoof against his mane, gently brushing it. That creature wasn’t Discord… the Draconequus who just sacrificed every ounce of energy he had for her and Luna’s safety; that was Discord. That was the hero that she adored with all her heart. He was the friend she held closer than anyone, he was her protector, he was the only man she truly loved.
Her heart stopped.
She loved him.
She looked at the handsome face the rested in her lap. He was the most confident, yet damaged being she had ever met in her life. He was the strongest and the most vulnerable. He was the hero and the helpless. She knew he would always come to save her, but always relied on her to save him.
He was perfect… because he was so imperfect.
She surveyed the damage he created one last time, this expedition was done. She could barely even sense Discord’s magic it was so faint; he was going to be out cold for a few days, at the very least. Forget the scrolls and maps, forget exploring, forget adventure, she cared about keeping him and Luna safe; nothing else. She was taking him home.
Home. That word sent a jolt of pain through her. All her time with Discord was forced to be secret, every conversation she held with him had to be in a cave or some frontier over the horizon. She was never able to walk through the halls of the palace with him strutting beside her, she could never knock on his door to curl up to him when she was frightened in the night, she could never just sit with him relaxing in the throne room as the setting sun shone through the windows.
No, she refused to live this life. Enough of this hiding, enough of this concealing. She needed him beside her and her sister without the fear of never seeing him again. She didn’t know what would be harder, convincing him or her father to let him live in the kingdom, but she had to. She had to protect him.
She had two new goals in life; protect Discord from whatever magic was within him and live a normal life with him. That was all she wanted.
She slowly brought her lips to his forehead and gently kissed him. She had no idea how or when she would able to bring Discord into the kingdom… but she would do everything in her power to make it happen. What could she do? The Grand Galloping Gala was only a few weeks away… if she went another Gala without showing any signs of affection for a noble… her father might start thinking of an arranged marriage. Then all chances of Discord and her were doomed. No, she would make it work.
She had to make it work. She had to find out what was the source of Discord’s torment, she had to find out where he came from, she had to know where that horrific power came from, she had to protect him, she had to.
She had to.