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// Chapter 14 - Operation getting rid of Celestia' ace in the hole 
// Story: Captain Goodking and the Nightmare Knights 
// by Leondude 
//------------------------------//

Sacanas trotted onto the battlefield in order to get Discord out of the way. When he arrived, he noticed from the distance most of the alien invaders have had their heads inflated to a gargantuan size and were floating off into the air. Some of them were holding onto their big balloon heads while frantically swinging their legs back and forth, others were flapping their arms about. One thing that was consistent though was that they were all screaming "HELP ME!" in their own little alien language. At this point, Sacanas was thankful that those aliens were merely expendable foot soldiers. He then noticed from afar two royal guards. One was tending to wounds on his leg while the other was just standing there like he was a prop, you know, up until he suddenly changed into a bipedal blobfish-looking thing with glowing red eyes and sharp claws. The creature then ferociously attacked the guard just as he finished wrapping his leg up in a bandage. Something that made Sacanas wince at the sight of it. Good thing those creatures were on his side.

"My leg!" the guard cried out.

Sacanas continued looking around the battlefield and noticed there was no sign of Discord. 

Good thing too because while his apprentice was taking over Luna's mind, he telepathically contacted some of the aliens to ambush and kidnap Fluttershy. He then walked to somewhere a little more secluded, where one of the aliens noticed Sacanas and walked closer to him. The alien also had Fluttershy in tow as well. There was a purple ethereal link between the alien's head and Fluttershy's. Sacanas looked on at the controlled Fluttershy with admiration.

"I'm impressed!" Sacanas proudly announced "Especially since that you guys are mere foot soldiers. As soon as I have Discord in that maze, we will have won! Ohohohoho!"

The alien almost felt tempted to use Fluttershy to attack Sacanas, but resisted such urges since they had a mutual ally in Kronos. Sacanas then noticed that, while Fluttershy was under the control of the alien, she still had the ability to speak and was very much aware that there is an alien in her head controlling her.

"H...help....me" she said weakly.

"I'll take it from here" Sacanas said "Now the next task I need you and your men to do, unless they've all been turned into balloons, is to find a unicorn by the name of Starlight Glimmer".

Sacanas then produced a picture of Starlight out of thin air.

"According to my apprentice, she looks like this and she appears to have an affinity for mind control and time-travel magic! While Kronos and I easily excel in those regards, I'd say three mind-controlling, time-traveling unicorns are better than two".

The alien then released Fluttershy from its control. After being freed, Fluttershy tried to make a run for it, but was stopped by a sharp pain entering the back of her head. She screamed before falling to the floor. Sacanas then used his own brand of mind-control magic to force Fluttershy to get up. Unlike when the alien was controlling her, Fluttershy was barely conscious when under Sacanas' control. Sacanas then teleported himself and the mind-controlled Fluttershy to the outside of the labyrinth. As Sacanas made the mind-controlled Fluttershy walk into the labyrinth, Sanies looked on with a smirk.

"You do know Discord is going to kill you, right?"

"Well, since that Fluttershy has prevented Discord from breaking your nose, along with you being worse than me, I highly doubt Discord going ki-EUGH!"

But before Sacanas could finish his sentence, Discord teleported behind him and grabbed him by the throat. Discord then pulled Sacanas' face near his. Discord's teeth were bared and his irises were glowing a burning red. And on his face was the nastiest scowl you could ever see on a face. Sanies just gave a small chuckle before continuing on with his own thing. Speak of the draconequus and he shall appear.

"Where....is she?" Discord growled at Sacanas, his irises glowing brighter at every syllable. 

Sacanas alternated between choking and giggling.

"With....your...p..pasts...COUGH!...and fondness..f..for...getting in people's..GHACK!...heads...and...HEEEEEE.....impulse control problem....I'm..s...surprised your friendship....with..Starlight....is..not as....s...strong as....yours....with...Fluttershy!"

That made Discord tighten his grip around Sacanas' neck. Before he actually does wind up breathing his last breath, Sacanas frantically pointed at the labyrinth, indicating that Fluttershy is in there. Discord then released his grip on Sacanas, causing him to drop to the floor coughing and sputtering. Sacanas then laughed after that.

"Kronos did warn me not to choke on my aspirations. Did I listen? Did I buck? Anyways, she is in there and if you manage to complete the maze, I will release her and the Nightmare Knights from my apprentice's grasp."

Sanies just gave Sacanas a glare. While Sanies' mental prowess was nothing to sneeze at, there was only so much he can concentrate on before he loses his grip on the Nightmare Knights entirely. Especially since that a part of Luna was still fighting back against his control.