//------------------------------//
// Chap 13. The Beginning of the End 
// Story: How Death Lived 
// by Crimson Wisp 
//------------------------------//

Only seconds passed after Princess Celestia's body shone brighter than the sun itself, and subsequently exploded outward in a blazing inferno. In a blast of fire and smoke so violent that shook the castle and nearly killed everypony inside, Twilight and Luna cast domed shields to defend themselves and their partners. We're it not for the princesses' quick reflexes, they, along with Starlight and Discord would have been burned to a crisp. 

As Twilight opened her eyes which had been shut tight out of fright for her life and Starlight's, she was very relieved to see the shield had held strong despite the ferocity of the explosion that had just occurred. Her mind began to race with possible explanations for the sudden outburst. As her mind failed to produce a feasible explanation for the deflagration that nearly killed her and her student, the ash and dust that had gathered over the shield obscured all vision outward. 

She looked over to her student, who was understandably holding onto her with a vice like grip as she shuddered in pure terror. Twilight wrapped a cautious wing around Starlight, who then looked up at her mentor with eyes that were too dry to cry anymore.

"...is it over?..."

She asked, her strained voice just above a whisper. Twilight looked at her student with a much more composed, yet frightened look. turning away from Starlight, she let the magical shield dissipate into the aether; the ash and soot that stained it and obstructed the princess of friendship's view cascaded off it and blew back towards the wall. 

She immediately regretted her decision as the heat of a furnace threatened to cook them alive. Twilight restrengthened her shield and cast a cleaning spell on the shield instead. As the debris slid off the domed shield She saw a sight that horrified her. 

In the midst of the cloud of dust that was now settling, stood Princess Celestia, but something was really really wrong with her. Her white coat seemed to glow with a red and white aura that radiated power and heat like that of the sun. 

The once beautiful regalia that adorned her body had darkened into a deep orange and assumed a shape akin to fire that hugged her body closely. Her wings had also been covered with armor and her crown was emblazoned with spikes. Her mane and tail no longer looked like the pastel rainbow that waved in a magical breeze. They were a raging fire that crackled and hissed menacingly.

Celestia was facing towards the cell with her wings folded against her barrel. The bars had been melted and smoldered on the ground as red hot blobs of metal. Only when the last of the dust settled did Twilight hear something other than the low rumble of the heat pressing against her shield.

"TREPHOR!!!!"

Shifting her gaze towards the inside of the cell, she saw Mia get off the floor and hurriedly run to Twilight's right with panic in her voice. Her vision blocked by the terrifying visage of Celestia's new look, she and Starlight shared a knowing look before shuffling to the side so they could get a better look. 

As they circled around Celestia, who was seemingly lost in deep thought, Twilight and Starlight began to see what looked to be charred bones that were still smoldering with... are the bones green? Twilight thought to herself as she then saw Mia holding something while breathing heavily. It was only when she took a closer look did she realize what... or who Mia was holding. 

In the flower adorned skeleton's arms, lay Trephor missing his entire lower half and the right side of his body darkened with soot. Twilight and Starlight Glimmer's eyes widened in horror as they could see him leaking some form of black smoke from his broken spine, and only when he tried to move his right arm did they notice his right hand was almost completely gone. 

He weakly raised it towards Mia's shoulder and latched on with his two remaining fingers. Mia's eyes were blue dots that let even smaller blue, purple and pink embers fall as tears for her beloved. She held him close to her chest, looking deep into the waning green flames of his eyes.

"Hh.. h-hey..."

He started, his voice was distorted and just above a whisper.

"H-how's my hair?..."

He stated before giggling to himself, causing a bout  of coughs and more of the red miasma to seep out through his broken back. After hearing this, Mia's eyes turned into a blueish lilac as she looked at him. The pain in her heart of what she hoped not to be true was dulled, if only because of his stupid joke. As this happened, Twilight noticed the large crack on the back of Trephor's skull and the small pieces that occasionally fell off. 

"M-Mia... This..-"

He began, only to be cut off by another fit of coughs, causing more fragments to detatch themselves from the back of his skull. From within Trephor's skull, a viscous dark red liquid began to trickle down and evaporate into a black mist upon hitting the dangerously hot floor. 

"This... isn't your fault..."

He assured her, his eyes flickering out for only a split second. Mia's once lilac eyes returned to a deep blue as she held Trephor's delicate frame even closer. The stream of azure embers that fell from Mia's face flowed down with even more furvor her darkest hour loomed over a soul she didn't even have.

"Give... give Azazel my thanks..."

He wheezed out in between coughs, struggling to get air into his non-existent lungs. Mia's sorrowful "expression" changed upon hearing that.

"...what?..."

She asked hesitantly, her barely restrained sobs being forgotten.

"For you... I never saw how you really felt for me... I-"

He was cut off by another fit of coughs, after which he continued. His eyes flickering out before relighting themselves, though dimmed.

"I... I'm sorry I was too much... of an idiot to see it..."

He admitted, struggling to think straight. To this, Mia simply she shut her eyes, becoming blue lines, unable to look at him lest she break.

"You... are the greatest gift... Astoshan and Azazel... have given me..."

The flame in his eyes began to die down even more, now an impossibly small scintillation of pink and green.

"Please Trephor... don't... Azazel can fix you... just hang on... please..."

She begged him, her sobs now audible as she spoke. Her left hand moved over his right cheek bone as she brought her forehead down to his and stayed there. He then moved his right hand and held hers. As this happened Twilight heard a gasp from her right and saw Luna with a horrified expression on her face as she looked on in disbelief at the visage of her sister before her. 

Tears began to form in her eyes, as the gentle and loving sister she once knew was nowhere to be found. Before her stood a well of a dark and primal hatred, one she was all too familiar with. Luna's legs faltered as she stared in abject terror at what her sister had become, the memories of the Nightmare's reign flashing before her very eyes. 

Discord, who had been silently watching from Luna's side the madness unfold, felt nothing but shame. This was the chaos he once brought about and yearned to see, and now that he was putting his power to good use, he was witnessing the one thing he wished he would never see. A paragon's descent into darkness. 

Discord's grim state worsened tenfold upon seeing the skeletons he had been keeping an eye on since their arrival in Equestria showed more life, love, and pain than most ponies he's ever seen. He gasped when he layed eyes on the green skeleton he'd grown so fond off as he saw the magic within him slowly drain out of him. 

He then saw the skeletons exchange a glance, and their eyes turn into a lilac pinkish hue. The two shared a silent kiss before the fire in Trephor's eyes snuffed out for the last time and his body disassembled in Mia's arms. For the first time in millennia, he'd seen the destruction of an undead. But never once did he ever think he'd see something like this, something so unnaturally tragic. 

He scowled at this and snapped his fingers, hoping to use his chaotic magic to revive the undead. In a magical poof, Trephor's skeleton was reconstructed, and everypony in the room gasped in shock, save for the unmoving Solar Diarch. Not once did she say anything, and to Luna's further unsettlement, Celestia wasn't even breathing. 

She stood there, unaffected by the passage of time or the view before her. She stared with an indifferent neutrality at the sobbing skeleton who was checking over her lifeless lover.

"Trephor! Please wake up! Trephor please! I'm begging you don't leave me!"

Mia begged through her incessant weeping. Twilight and Starlight, now able to take their eyes off Mia, looked at Discord. He was looking at his paw and claw respectively. He then looked over to the undead pair, then back at his clawed hand.

"I don't... understand... That should've worked!"

He stated, sounding worried. His mismatched face bore concerned bewilderment as he snapped his fingers again. A magical poof went off inside the cell and the girls turned their attention to the sound. In the cell, Mia was still trying to get Trephor to wake up with no discernable change having occurred.

"Trephor please! I'm begging you! Come back to me! PLEASE!"

She wailed, her heart that had ceased to beat and even exist years ago, was being crushed with every second that went on and Trephor lay irresponsive on the ground. The princess of friendship and her student looked over to see the god of chaos... crying!? 

Discord was silently shedding tears at the sight of Mia and Trephor. "Discord can't heal Trephor!?" Ran through Twilight's mind as she came to the grim realization that... no... it couldn't be...

"I've seen enough of this farce."

A stern and distorted voice spoke. Twilight looked at Celestia to see that she was scowling at Mia.

"Princess Celestia?..."

Twilight muttered, immediately wincing away when the eyes of a demon stared back at her. The white of her once beautiful eyes were now a dark amber brown and her irises were no longer the magenta hue she recognized as that of her mentor.
Instead, Celestia bore sharp and jagged irises that glowed with a sickly yellow light. In her eyes, Twilight saw nothing but distain and a nigh endless supply of pent-up abhorrence. 

The sight of that malevolent glare was something she'd only seen three other times in her past. When Nightmare Moon returned from her banishment, when she dueled Tirek, and when she first saw Azazel leaving Canterlot's mausoleum. Those eyes boring into her very soul were worse. So much so that Starlight ceased being scared herself upon seeing her mentor shivering in an immobilizing panic.

As Twilight's breath began to shake and quiver, Celestia turned her sights back in her target. She charged magic into her horn, but instead of it's usual ethereal sound and appearance, Celestia's horn burned with a crimson aura and rumbled with dark power. As she did so, Twilight's shield began to crack and splinter as the heat being radiated off of Celestia's form now threatened to shatter it under the pressure. 

Twilight then heard Mia begin to... growl? She turned to see her with her fists clenched firmly over Trephor's body, the embers of her eyes lit ablaze with a bright red flame.

"HOW DARE YOU!?"

Mia roared as she got to her feet. She charged at Celestia with her left arm pulled back. When Mia closed the gap between the two, she swung with every ounce of animalistic rage she could muster. 

With a resounding thud and cracking, Mia's blow caused her to break three of her fingers off after a small explosion erupted from the point of contact and desintigrated what was left of her hand. The blast sent her stumbling backwards and onto her back. While all of this happened, Celestia remained unflinching and acted as if she had just now noticed Mia was even there.

"How cute. Avenging the loss of the one you love. You almost had me convinced... Azazel."

Celestia stated with venom in her tone. Her voice sounded as if layed with another. The other voice sounding like a low gurgling voice, almost masculine in tone, but not quite. Mia then looked at her in shock.

"That's right... I can see you hiding behind your puppets. I see you... for what you are... a coward who runs from what he knows he can't beat with brute force. Just like you ran away to save your pathetic life from whatever was really threatening it back in your own twisted world."

She mused with a triumphant smile, which bled into a a manic laughter that dwarfed the memory in Twilight's mind of Nightmare Moon's first appearance. Her magic fully, she lowered her horn and aimed at Mia.

"YOUR WEB OF LIES ENDS HERE WITH YOUR DISGUSTING UNDEAD!!!"

Celestia billowed as she prepared to fire. Just she was about to, Discord's sorrowful attitude about this entire situation had taken its toll on him. Donning a serious expression on his face, he spoke.

"No you don't!"

And with that, he snapped his fingers once more. Celestia seemed to flicker in and out of existence with a low rumbling that then became a high pitched scream. A multicolored shockwave expanded outwards, phasing harmlessly through everything with an ethereal hum. 

As the unnatural sound filled the room, Celestia warped out of sight and Discord began panting heavily as he fell to his knees. As did the heat that once plagued the room vanished with Celestia and silence reigned for the longest while. Twilight tentatively dropped her shield feeling the intense  heat vanish with Celestia.

"W-what just happened?"

Starlight asked, looking at Twilight with a frightened tone. Twilight said nothing as she alternated between her student, the place where Celestia once stood, and Discord. No one said anything until a few seconds passed, and Luna spoke up with restrained tears and anger in her tone.

"What have you done to our sister?"

She demanded, looking at Discord. The god of chaos shakily stood upright and looked at her with a cold sweat running down his brow. 

"Sh-she's... safe. I just-"

He stopped to take a breath and gather his bearings.

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF DISCORD!!!"

Luna shouted, tears now streaming down her cheeks as the fear of the worst plague her. Once Discord caught his breath, his eyes locked with princess' in a gentle, yet stern gaze.

"I dispelled her into the aether."

He admitted. And with a resounding:

"WHAT!?"

From everypony he winced slightly before speaking up again. 

"Celestia is alright, but I had to place her somewhere she wouldn't be a danger to herself or others for the time being."

He explained. Luna looked like she was about to blast him straight to Tartarus, before Starlight spoke up.

"What's wrong with the princess? I've never seen her like that!"

She asked, her hoof still on Twilight's back. Twilight was looking into empty space, taking shaky breaths while a steady flow of tears trickled down to the floor. Discord simply turned to his right and stared into the inside of the disheveled jail cell. 

Mia was too preoccupied with praying her non-existent heart out for something... anything to bring Trephor back. Discord's now saddened expression became one of resolve as he turned to look at Twilight and Starlight who were looking at him with pleading and concerned expressions respectively.

"I'll explain everything, but not here."

He raised his bird claw and with a snap of his fingers, disappeared with everypony and undead in a magical "poof". The now empty dungeon only housed two smoldering corpses and a destroyed jail cell. 

Pony guards stationed outside had heard a loud commotion from below, but wouldn't dare disobey Celestia's direct order to stay out and keep anypony from getting in or out unless it was her and her guards. That is of course, until a certain alabastor unicorn with a navy blue mane and purple armor showed up with four more similarly purple clad soldiers came to the entrance of Canterlot Castle's underground dungeon.

"Open the doors!"

He ordered.

"Sir, we have orders from Princess Celestia to make sure that no pony enters the dungeons, Sir!"

The Guard on the right side of the door stated with a salute to the Captain of the royal guard.

"I don't have time for this!"

He stated through gritted teeth. He stepped forward only for the guards to huddle closer, standing between him and his destination.

"We're sorry sir, but we can't let you thr-"

The guard only the left started, only to be cut off as he was violently thrown to the side by the unicorn Captain's lavander magic along with his companion in opposite directions. He then used his magic to try and open the door, only for the lock to stand in his way. 

He let out a groan of frustration before he decided to simply tear the door off it's hinges, which proved to be difficult, yet possible. He then broke into a mad dash as he flew down the stairs and sprinted the cellblock; finding the destruction left by events he was as of yet unaware of, leaving his soldiers in the dust. 

"Twili!? Twili!?"

He called out with fear in his voice. Upon seeing the two dead guards, he became angry and chastised himself for not being here sooner. The sound of hooves clip clopping over to him from behind echoed through the dungeons.

"Captain Armour! What are your orders? sir!"

A mare clad in purple and golden armor addressed her Commander in Chief. With a determination stronger than steel, he looked back at his brothers and sisters in arms.

"Lockdown Canterlot! No pony gets in or out! I WANT EVERY INCH OF THIS CASTLE SEARCHED! OUR PRIORITY IS FINDING THE PRINCESSES!!!"

He ordered furiously marching back toward the stairs, but before they headed out, another guard, a stallion spoke up.

"What about the monster that did this?"

He asked sternly. The captain of the royal guard thought about it for a moment, but his once his mind was made, it would not be undone.

"It's probably holding the princesses hostage. It is an enemy of Equestria and threatens the lives of everypony near it, as such, you are to kill it on sight!"

/////////Azazel///////////

Having seen the cruelty Celestia was capable of, I snapped... While in control of Mia, I lashed out at her in a blind fit of rage. After I failed to even scratch her, I couldn't bare to see Mia be destroyed as well. I took my hand off of Avalon's skull and staggered back, falling to my knees. 

I sat there in that dark and damp armory, trying to keep my already broken heart from imploding. Avalon, who had seen the events alongside me unfold, shuffled over to me. The blue embers of his eyes reflected by the tears flowing down my cheeks.

"Master... I'm so sorry..."

Avalon stated, struggling to keep his usually stoic composure. I shut my eyes in a vain attempt to keep myself from shedding more tears. I tried to think of something, anything else so that I would not have to bear that pain again, but it was not use. The voices of Mia and Trephor's last conversation along with flashes of the night where I lost everything reverberated in my mind; driving me ever closer to madness. 

Subconsciously, I began to charge unfocused magic within me. I failed to save my mother and father... and now... I couldn't save two of my closest friends. The strain of keeping it all in was finally released when the skeletal ponies, who had stayed just outside while I searched for the two skeletons they knew as Mia and Trephor, walked up from behind me, and wrapped me in an embrace as warm as dead bones could offer. 

The gesture of concern was the final strike to my heart, sending me into a frenzy of animalistic belows and sobs that echoed through the empty castle and we're heard throughout the Everfree.

"N̵̼̙̆O̷̘̥̐Ỏ̵͇̮͊O̴͈̚O̵̝̔͊O̸̢͒ͅÕ̵͈͠Ö̷̖̖́̕Ò̷̰̞Ő̵̻̖O̷̹̬̍͛O̸͑̔͜Ó̸͖̲O̸̙̚O̸̜͐̑O̶͇͈͑̆Ö̵̻́̄!̸̳̆!̵̝̖͋͑!̴͚͒!̵̫̂͐!̷̧͔͆̚"

I screamed while slamming my fist into the ground with enough force to shatter the old stone floor. As I did, the magic that I had charged within me was released as an expanding sphere of necrotic energy. The equid skeletons around me backed away in fright, and upon getting struck with necrotic energy, they were embued with power and strength unlike ever before. 

The skeletal ponies were enveloped in the black fires of hell for a few moments, and once the flames receded, their clothing now shimmered and flared as if made of the unholy fires of hell. Their eyes no longer resembled small candle lights, for now they burned like red hot stars. Avalon stayed much the same, though now, he truly seemed like a wraith. His bones smoldered with a sickly black miasma and his red colored accents glowed like billets of of red hot metal freshly pulled from a burning forge. 

I stood to my feet, the pain that was breaking me only a few moments ago had been redirected and channeled to serve one purpose, and one purpose alone.

"I̵̥͒'̵̣͈̾̏L̸͕̓Ḻ̵̃͌ ̸̟̭̉̕P̶͇̝̓͒U̶͓͋T̴͎̤̀ ̴̫̰͆Ȟ̴̰E̵͓͕͒Ŗ̵̎ ̶̪̼͝T̸̫̊E̴̲͋͘Ē̸͎̭͂T̶̹̥͊͂H̷̲̐ ̷̠͂Ŏ̷̩̻N̷̪̙̋ ̵͓̠̇̽Ą̷͋̓ ̶̩̟̓G̴͎̈́R̷͓̻̀Ḭ̸̩̿N̷̥͔͆D̸̛̻̓S̸̺͇̚T̴̗̑͘O̷̧̫̔N̸̢͒E̵͉̩͠ ̸̥͐͛A̵̭̠̒͊Ñ̷̰̻̽D̵̻̝̓ ̵̠̕Ș̷̇̑K̸̻̓͒I̸͖̎̕N̷̢͙̋̿ ̴͕͓̅͐H̷̰̓Ȩ̶͎̎R̴͕͐ ̶͔͇͐͑A̸̺͓̅L̷͉̋̎Ị̷̐V̴͍̘̇̀Ë̵̛̙́!̴̫̔́ͅ!̵̳̃!̸̛̭͉̅ ̸̲͌H̸̡͌Ȩ̵̓̆Ḻ̸̆̔L̷̞͔̕ ̷̳̗̏͗Ẁ̷̻̟́Ȉ̴͔̀L̵̯̏L̴̬̑͝ ̴̺́S̴͓̀E̸̬͝E̵͓̳̍͘M̸̪̚͝ ̷̠̓L̴͉̎I̵̮̱̽K̷͉̱̽E̵̫̘͗ ̸̘̼̔A̴͖̿̃ ̶̛̫͋Ṕ̶͙Ȃ̷̞̕R̷̯͆À̷͓D̴̤͗I̷̝͎̐͘S̷̪̽E̶̟̽ ̵̮̔̌T̴͈̘͛͑O̷̜̯̎ ̸̩̻̒͝H̸͉͇̉Ḙ̷̈́R̶̤̍̅ ̶͉̆̂W̶̻͛H̶͉̝͝E̷͙̖̽̃N̸̡̏ ̵̼̒I̵̲̐ ̸̦̾Ċ̸̛͖O̷͙̟̿̓N̵̠̚͜S̷̜͈̈́́Ȕ̷͉͈M̶̭̻̓̓Ẻ̷̱ ̸̼͙̿̐Ȟ̷̼̑E̷̜̲͌Ṛ̶̀́ ̷͔̽S̵̥͔̀̔O̶̭̺͂Ũ̴̜̍L̵͓̓̿!̵̲̇͘!̴̛͉͓!̴̡̐̚ ̶̜̋̏À̴̱̲͐N̴͔̏͝D̴̬̲̈̔ ̶̫͐͘N̶͉̓ͅÒ̶̤ ̸̱͘Ğ̸̟̇O̷̡͝D̷̫̖͒ ̵̥̀̽I̵̳̟͒N̴̍͜ ̷̱̈́̈́T̸̯̗͒H̴̪͋E̸͔̊͆ ̴̙̺̓̒H̵̫̃E̵̬͌Ä̵̱͈́͘V̷̜͂̾E̴͚͐N̵͚̾͋S̴͕͠ ̵̮͠O̸̥̔̃R̷̹̹͗̆ ̶̡̥̃E̸̳̎͛V̷̦̉E̷̝͍͋N̸̫̭̈́́ ̴͙̞̈̋M̴͇̈́̚E̷̫͒͝P̴͓̈́H̶͔̭̐̄Ỉ̵͚S̶̰̱̉T̴̩̖̀͝O̴̧͓͌P̷̖̤̈́H̵̛̫͇͝Ë̷́̽͜L̷̺̯̂E̶͙̮͒S̶͙̐ ̶̖͇͗͋Ȟ̵̨͈̔I̸̻̫͛̕M̴̞̫̀S̸͈̔͑E̸̛̲͇̽L̵̘̎F̴̦̰͑͝ ̶̡̠͑͊W̷͎̕Ȉ̴͉̖͑L̴̲̆L̴͎̈͝ ̶̰͎̊͌S̸̱̯̀T̴͖̺͝Ō̷͖͗P̵͍͒ ̷̏ͅT̷̘̚Ḧ̵̭́Ȩ̶͙̚ ̴͚͝ͅD̴̩́̆Ȩ̴̫̈́S̵̯̽T̴̝͋̕R̶̺̿U̴̞̺̎C̸̛̼̩̅T̷̗̖̓̃I̴̜̰͠͝Ò̸̤ͅN̸͈̝͆͛ ̵̦̀͛Ṫ̶͍͙H̴̜͕́A̴̲͑̿Ť̶̲ͅ ̵̼̙̊̂W̴͚͝I̸̾͜L̴̪͓͂̔L̶͙̘̀́ ̵͎́F̴̣̾A̸̙̺̕L̸̻͈͆̂L̴͓̈́ ̷͓̉͝Ȯ̴̰̥N̸̢̆͜ ̴͔̫̀͠H̶͇̩̏Ẽ̴̥̅R̴̨̚̚ ̴͚̇̌Ä̵̹̈́N̸̦͂͝D̴̮̖͝ ̵̛̫̾H̵̦̿Ě̵͜R̴͎̒̂ ̸̱̆K̴̮͉͗I̵̘͙̎̌Ń̸͔̜Ǧ̷̝̥̈́D̷̝̾Ő̸̪M̵̢̝̆!̷͓̆!̶̆͜!̶͈̘̑"

I screamed between roars of an animalistic fury reserved only for when I am truly angered. The once cool and damp room became a dry and hot furnace as hellfire attempted to get passed my teeth, which were held shut with so much strength that my teeth groaned and threatened to shatter. The souls of damned within me shared my rage, screaming at the top of their non-existent lungs for bloody murder. After I calmed down enough to think semi-rationally, I turned to Avalon.

"Ṱ̸̀̆ḣ̷̻̗͌e̷̛͎̳ ̸̝̈́͜͠r̴̮͆o̵̺͑ọ̵̈̎m̷̬̋̏.̴̗̩͘ ̸̳̯͌W̷̢̯̉͘h̵͓̍̇é̵̘͠r̴̘̖̀é̷̢ ̴̠̖̓w̸̮̿̏h̷̝̀i̵̞̺̚s̷̢̈́p̷̡͌̅ě̶̫r̶̰̉s̴̙̼̈̇ ̶͍͌a̶̭͓͋̿r̴͉̟̋ẹ̷͂̇ ̷̘͒̔h̵̛̠̀e̷̢̅a̵͓̿ͅr̸̥͉͋d̷̦͚͠͠ ̷͍̼͆̔a̷̼̬͌n̸͉̜̅̓d̷͇͑ ̴̨̮̐̾ṱ̴̖̾ḧ̷̪̫ë̵͚́ ̴͚̀͛a̸̫̖͋̒i̴͖͠r̶͔̿ ̷̛͐ͅi̶̳̯͌͊s̵͎͆ ̶̮̍͑c̶͕̈́o̷̢̜̾l̶̤̫͆̃d̷͖́.̷̰͎̿̐ ̵̠͊T̵̼̺̆a̸̟̾ḳ̷̃̉e̴̳̍ ̸̢̈́̓m̴̹̭͌ḙ̸̋ ̶̟͈̅t̵̟̉h̶͎̼̽e̷̼̕r̷̝̒ȅ̸͇͉!̸̭̄̾"

I ordered harshly, my voice bent and distorted, showing the dark thoughts that directed my actions. I felt Avalon wanting to suggest otherwise, but I was not going to be denied, not now.

"N̶̥͋O̸͇͑Ẅ̴̼̪́́!"

I shouted, a very small plume of hellfire ejecting from my mouth as shut my maw of teeth with a resounding "clack". 

"Sir, whatever is down there is likely beyond our con-"

He tried, only for me to look away from him and lock onto ten suits of equid armor around us and cast a spell of my own design.

"P̶͈̓̋I̸̹̙͋E̴̙̯͗̋R̷̮̩͒̈́ ̷͈͗T̴̮͈͋̒Ŏ̵͖̹T̷̬̂ͅE̷̡͑ͅṂ̷͠,̵̛̪̳͆ ̷͕͘C̴̻̍̕Ȍ̵͔̹͐R̴̙̜͋Ṗ̷͚͉O̵̮̍R̸̢̃̊A̵̗͈͛͛ ̴̲̈́̀L̷̟̠̆Ỏ̴̠̪͌C̴̣̋̚O̵͎̔̔M̵̧̿Ò̸͍̋T̸̝̟̐Ö̷͖̗̀Ŕ̶̝ ̴͎̇Ȉ̵̡͎̇N̴̼͔̕F̸̲̰̽̈́E̷͉͂̚Ȑ̸̠͝N̵̺̾Ṳ̵̖͛M̸̐͐͜!̶̺̔͌"

I shouted, prompting Avalon to shut up and stagger when a shockwave of blood red magic erupted from my chest. Silence reigned for a few short seconds, before the suits of armor began to shake. 

With the sound of muffled bells, the eye slits in the helmets of the full sets of pony shaped armor exploded outward with hellfire. They marched off their pedestals, and with a wave of my hand, ancient swords and warhammers flew off the wall they were hung on and proceeded to levitate beside the animated golems.

"I̵ ̸w̴i̵l̵l̸ ̴n̸o̵t̷ ̸r̵e̵p̷e̷a̴t̴ ̶m̶y̴s̷e̶l̶f̸ ̵a̵g̴a̷i̸n̵ ̴A̸v̴a̵l̸o̴n̶.̶ ̸T̸a̷k̵e̵ ̸m̴e̶ ̶t̷h̶e̶r̵e̸.̴.̵.̶ ̵̵N̶o̷w̵."

I got in his face and spoke with a lethal amount of malice in my voice. Avalon lowered his head in submission and followed my order.

"As you wish sir..."

He acknowledged, fear lacing his tone. We walked through halls of the castle in silence, the synchronized hoofsteps of the golems and the clattering of metal plates and chainmail drowning out any other sound that would dare oppose my squadron of soldiers. As we drew closer to our destination, I felt the air get colder and incoherent whispers could be heard.

"M-m-m-master?..."

One of my skeletons asked. I didn't know which one and frankly I was too angry to care. My fists were held firmly and with the desire to be crushing something. We descended down several staircases, and went so deep that the sun's rays no longer reached us. Although such darkness was little more than a nuisance for me, my skeletons were bumping into walls and tripping over random debris lying around. 

I wordlessly ordered everyone to stop with a wave of my hand, and grabbed several planks of old and broken wood lying about. Using a prestidigitation spell, I lit them and began using them as makeshift torches. Now illuminated and being able to see a lot better, we continued to head down. 

The air was now getting very cold and damp. The torches I had lit only moments ago were threatening to be extinguished. We turned a final corner and before me stood large and imposing twin doors decorated with glyphs and floral patterns.

As I got closer to the door, the whispers in my head were becoming louder and the souls within me began urging to get away. The doors gave off a powerful and ancient magical resonance. Upon closer inspection, I could sense layers upon layers of magical spells and wards meant to keep the door shut. 

"This is the place, sir."

Avalon started, explaining the obvious before continuing.

"If I may ask, what exactly is behind this door? Is it what tried to attack you this morning?"

He asked. Getting closer to the door, I placed a hand on it and was immediately shocked with a small bolt of static electricity. I pulled back at the sudden sound and tinge of pain. I turned towards Avalon and answered his questions.

"L̴a̴s̶t̷ ̶n̵i̸g̷h̷t̶,̶ ̶m̷y̷ ̶d̷r̵e̸a̵m̵s̴ ̵w̸e̸r̴e̴ ̷i̸n̷v̴a̸d̶e̶d̶ ̵b̷y̸ ̵a̸n̵ ̶a̶n̸c̵i̶e̷n̷t̷ ̵b̷e̶i̷n̸g̴.̶ ̸T̸h̴e̵ ̸l̷i̸k̷e̵s̸ ̷o̷f̵ ̶w̶h̷i̷c̴h̵ ̵h̷a̷s̸ ̷s̸c̴o̶r̶e̶ ̷t̶o̸ ̸s̶e̴t̵t̷l̸e̴ ̴w̸i̵t̷h̶ ̷C̶e̴l̵e̵s̵t̷i̷a̸.̴ ̴H̴e̶ ̵w̵a̸s̴ ̸i̸m̸p̴r̷i̷s̷o̵n̶e̷d̶,̸ ̴a̵n̷d̷ ̸h̵a̶s̵ ̵l̸a̸i̶d̷ ̶f̴o̶r̸g̴o̸t̷t̸e̴n̵ ̸i̸n̵ ̵t̵h̷i̷s̵ ̴c̴a̴s̸t̵l̶e̸ ̶f̶o̴r̸ ̸c̶e̶n̸t̶u̵r̶i̸e̶s̸.̸ ̴H̴e̵ ̸w̴i̷l̴l̷ ̶b̵e̴ ̵t̸h̵e̸ ̸s̵w̵o̸r̵d̵ ̴t̴h̶a̶t̸ ̵w̶i̵l̶l̸ ̸c̵l̵e̴a̸v̴e̶ ̵E̷q̶u̵e̵s̶t̸r̶i̴a̴ ̶i̵n̶ ̷t̶w̶o̴ ̶o̵n̷c̵e̵ ̶h̸e̷ ̴h̸a̸s̶ ̴b̷e̴e̶n̸ ̸f̵r̶e̸e̶d̵.̴"

I explained, turning back to the monolithic twin doors that towered over me as I tried to think of a way to open them without making the whole castle collapse on our heads.

"Sir, You can't be serious!"

A masculine voice called out from behind me, causing me to turn around and glare at the speaker. It was the soldier stallion.

"Sir, you would condemn thousands of innocents to a bloody war over one pon-"

He began and was cut off when I stormed towards him and grabbed him by his spine at the base of where his neck should be.

"L̷̯̄͘ḭ̷̉͠ş̷̜̂̿t̸̟̤́͂e̸̝͌̀ͅǹ̶͔ ̸͍͕͝t̵͖͚͑͐ö̷̤́́ ̵̦̭́͘m̴̢̓̋e̵̟͚͐ ̴̖̓̈ẙ̵̥́ō̴̬u̶̪̦̅͝ ̴̯͖͆z̴̟͊̚ę̴͉͒â̸͜l̷̠̯̽ö̷̺̖́̋u̷̙̠̎s̵̝̚ ̸̥̑͊i̶͖̙̍m̴͍͍̏p̷͖̗͌͐,̶̛̜͗ ̸͖̕͠Ą̴̤͝N̸̹̑̌D̴̮̠̅ ̴̠̉̄L̸̫͆I̵̟̚͜S̸͓̎T̷̡͚̀͛É̴̦͐N̴͓͠͝ ̶̨̣͂Ẅ̸̢̹́Ě̵̜L̷̨̇̽ͅL̶̲͂̎!̶͚͑!̷̱͍̎!̵͍͛ ̶͉̠̃C̵̢̉ḙ̵͂l̴͓̺̏e̴͖̼̾͂s̴͚͑ť̷̟͈i̵̙͕̅̓a̶̲̕͠ ̷͚͆ͅȋ̵̥̈́s̴͍͒͝ ̴͎̮̎̓ä̵̘́̚ ̵͙͓̎̃p̸͎̱̏͂ȓ̵̗̀é̵͉̤́j̶̜̾ũ̸̞͝d̵̘̒̐͜i̴̛̮̣͆c̶̞̍̏ḭ̶̭̑a̷̹͓̚͝l̸̯̝͒ ̶͖̈͌i̸̳̜̐m̴̺͍͑b̵̨͙̍̐ẹ̸̳͌̀c̴̥͝i̵̦̙̊͘l̶̈́́͜è̵̻ ̸̣̪̓w̴͈̬͑͐ḫ̶̘̑o̸̲͠ ̶͓̆͑f̵͇̾͛e̸̛̤͓ḁ̵̲͒̀ř̶ͅs̵̤̝͝ ̷̼̈́w̴̼̅h̶͙̍͠ã̶̼͝t̵͇̲̅ ̶̥̄s̷͓̉̄h̶̥͖͊e̷̋͛ͅ ̸͔̅̒ḍ̷̦̂̈́ŏ̷̧̥è̵̖ͅs̴̝̝̃̂ ̴̯̤͑n̷̦̟͠o̸̘̿t̸̡̍͊ ̴̻́u̴̧̿ņ̵̞͊̓d̵̡̤̈́͝ȇ̶͍͒r̸̟̥̈́̃s̸̞͘͠ț̸̅̋a̴̯̮͗͗ṋ̶̭̑d̶̮͊̏ ̵̰̜́̿o̸̟̙̎r̸͉̄͂ ̴̫̩̊͆c̴̟͇̉͠ȧ̶̢̖ň̸͈̭ṋ̴̢̅ȍ̷̡̹́t̷̻̔͛ ̷͖͚͐c̶̯̼͂͝ǒ̵̳͗n̶̠̺̆t̶̫̣͌̇ŕ̸̹͓ò̶̮l̷̟͑̑!̷̫̜̾̆ ̷̩͐I̵̻͗͜f̶̙̙̕ ̵̳̤͊̅Ĭ̶̩͔ ̵͕͓̋ḋ̸̦o̵̢̓̆n̵̝͗͑'̴̡͎̆t̷̖̫͗̑ ̵̳̯́d̷͎͇̅e̶̻̓s̸̱̈͋t̸͎̆r̴̗̒õ̴̤ÿ̷̨́ ̶̳̫͐͝h̶̤̤̀̚ę̴͂̀ṟ̶̕,̵̱͉̅͒ ̵̥͖̽̌Ș̷̫̿Ḩ̷̺̀̍E̶̠̝͠͝ ̴̧̜͐W̵̨̰̓I̷̢̠̍L̸̬̉̅L̸͔̍̐͜ ̴̲̎͒D̴̬͈́͒Ê̸̳̗̕S̸̥̀T̵͈̠̍R̶̬̆͘O̵̺͆͊Y̶̩̝̅ ̸͙̼͊U̴͖̽̃S̴̻͎̎͆!̵͑ͅ ̵̺͝W̵̟̟̍̆i̷̛̭͝ẗ̵̼́͜h̸͉͂ ̷̺̆̅S̵̹̝͊ǎ̸̻r̴̬̾́o̸̭͌̒s̷̗̠̽ ̵̠̋͠b̶̄̈́͜ỵ̸̙͋ ̴̛̳̼͠m̵̬̤̀̿y̷̺̔͂ ̸̞̜́̍s̷̜͗ḯ̴̳d̵̬̔̓ė̴̟̣͛ ̷̼̻͛I̵̳͗͝ ̶͎̘̊͆w̸̬͋̕i̴͎͚̕l̵̟̈̈l̸̛͇͠ ̷̱̇r̷̗͗̆ä̸̗i̸͎̜̐̆s̶̰̄͝è̵̲ ̷̡̟̋ã̶̙n̶̼̈́͝ ̶̗̇á̸̖̦̈r̶̫͉͘m̵̨͍̓ỳ̶̝͓ ̴̠͋f̸̨̭͌r̶̥̲͐͛ọ̴̼̏̅m̷̹͝ ̴̲̃͘t̵͎͇̔h̵͖̱̄ë̸̟̆ ̶̮̥̇ḑ̷̠͋̏e̷͚̩͛p̸̢̘̓t̸͛͜ĥ̷̜ş̴̍ ̶̰͎̇o̵̬̯̅̚f̷͈̽ ̸̯͕̎h̸̗̥̑e̴̛͚̜̋l̶̬͐l̴̜̚͘ͅ ̸̨̐͝į̶̿ţ̵̪̈́s̶͖̗̎͠e̴̺͝ͅḽ̴̈f̵̐͒ͅ!̵̩̀͝ ̸͍̂̓͜A̷̙͆N̶̨̒D̷̦̓ ̶̡̜͑Į̷͛̉ ̷̛̻Ẃ̵̠̟I̵̧͐͘L̴͇̽͌L̶̘̞͂ ̷̖̾͗U̸͎̙͆̈́S̶͉̩̽E̶̼͋ ̸͙͉͂̋I̷̠͒̽T̵̄͂͜ ̸̲̓̀T̶̖̍ͅO̸̢̚ ̴̣̎R̴̨̤͝A̴̼̿̕I̴̖̓N̸͈̯̽ ̷̲̇̓H̷̢̰̊E̸͕͗͛L̶̞͓̂L̶͎̣̎̄ ̸̘̏̀O̴̬̹̿N̸̦̗̅ ̵͛̚ͅC̸͖̀È̷̲͇͠L̷̤̈́Ė̸͕S̵̨̆T̷̗̅̓I̸̺̮̾͒A̸̜͋ ̸͎̙̀F̷̬͓̎Ö̸͎̩R̴͇͝ ̷̗̩́W̶̨̪͑̋Ĥ̵̘A̸̢̙͛T̷͖̈́̾ ̴͓̔S̷͈̒H̷̢̫̄͊E̷͉̐́ ̶̬͑͜H̴̼̘̃̾A̸̯̺͋̍S̷̯̦̓͝ ̵̩͎̐T̴̙̓A̸̖̺̾͝K̴̲͐̕E̴̬͔͊̅N̴̯̩̄ ̷͈̐͂F̴̛͙̑ͅR̶̲̈́O̸̖̦̽͝M̵̞̄ ̴̗̭́M̸̪̳̃Ḙ̴͗̅!̶̛͚̈́!̶̼́͌!̶̗̈́!̸͙̈́"

I roared angrily at his face, only barely keeping myself from crushing the stallion's spine in my grasp. As this happened, he struggled in vain to free himself from my grip, gagging as if he needed air. I let him go once my rant was over and glared at him with woefully contained anger. He then looked up at me as the two red spheres of flame turned into a pale yellow and shrunk to the size of pinpricks.

"D̷̬̜̍̕o̸̡̪͗̇ę̵̛̟́s̸̢̩̈͝ ̴̢̻̊ă̷͖̼n̷̹̼̎̂ỳ̸̠͝ȯ̸̠͈n̵̛͇̮͠e̵̮̱͑ ̵̼͂͝ẹ̸̡͆l̸͍̠͆s̸͇̈́̊e̸̩͐ ̸̫́͠h̴͕͝a̷̗͙̋v̶̳̏̕e̴̖͈̔ ̶͕̯̃à̶̻ņ̸̥́̈́y̴̺̲͐t̸̢̅h̷̟̀ī̵̞̞ṅ̸͈͠g̶̡͚̉̿ ̵̥̀t̷̬͎̍̎ḣ̶̙̠ȩ̴͎̀y̶̦̐͌ ̵̣̬̏̀w̷̲͎͛a̴̢̙̋͝n̸͖͘t̸̢̰̄̾ ̷̳̩̋t̵̜͈̐́o̶͎̼͑ ̶̡̘̋͘c̵̜͒ò̴̼̰ň̵͎t̸̹́̆r̸̰̕i̴̺̘̎b̴͔̥̌̈u̸̳̿t̷͍͋ė̴̤!̴͇̽̂?̴̗̈́̾"

I asked with as much malice as I could use without screaming. Fortunately, they got the message and stayed quiet. Straightening myself, I looked over at the door and decided to put my anger to good use. Within seconds, my chest was primed and glowed an evil red as I unleashed a stream of hellfire onto the doors. 

A magical barrier that had remained invisible till now, began to unravel as my files laid waste to it. After a minute and a half, the wards keeping me from my prize broke down and that doors were now free for me to open. Without wasting time, I made a beeline for the door and tried to open it. 

The doors had simple lock, but me being impatient led to me ramming the doors open. As the twin gates flung open, dust within the room that had been untouched for centuries scattered with the sudden gust of wind. Upon opening the door, I felt as if I was standing naked in a freezing tundra. 

Stepping inside I saw various stands and racks along with the odd pedestal, all of which were barren and empty; save for one pedestal in the far back. I immediately recognized the statue, and I felt an odd tingly feeling all around my skin as I drew closer to the horrified visage of a masked human. Remembering the letter I had received from the self proclaimed Spirit of Chaos, I took out the letter from my bag and read it over again. Turning the page, I immediately recognized the abyssal glyphs in the back and read aloud the inscription.

"Channel your magic into the statue and say these words..."

Looking up at Saros, then back down at the letter, I hesitated if only for a moment to raise my hand towards the human prisoner and uttered the spell while imbuing it with a gentle stream of magic. 

"Sicut cortex mali mortuus lignum... ex lapis, eris liberos..."

At first, nothing happened, but just as I thought that I had failed to cast the spell correctly, small cracks began to spread from his face and spiderweb their way through his body. Stone began to chip off of him as a low electric humming resounded, only stopping once the last of the pieces of stone fell off of his form.

Having remained motionless the entire time, he then went limo and fell forward. I caught him and tossed his relatively light form over my shoulder once I realized he was unconscious. 

"Alright everyone, head back to the library and prepare a suitable bed for our guest."

I ordered, turning around to look at my small entourage. They all nodded hesitantly, save for Avalon and the mare besides him. As my skeletons left, I turned to Avalon, who was looking at me with what I knew to be concern. Saying nothing, I gave him the letter I had received while bathing and began to walk away.

"I will be in the library should you need of me."

I explained, leaving the two to read the parchment. I retraced my steps and found the library rather quickly. Stepping inside, I saw my undead finishing up on cleaning the area around the tree trunk, and a sight that warmed my heart enveloped in a dark hatred for Celestia.

Anvari was playing with the manticore like that of an oversized cat. Using a prestidigitation spell to create a small ball of intangible green light, which the manticore then tried to catch in it's paws. Despite her child like demeanor, she's comedically intelligent, and has the tact of mind to not have the large beast ram into any of the towering bookshelves and destroy everything. 

I walked inside and placed the unconscious human on my "bed". I was tempted to remove his mask, but thought better of it and let him sleep. Taking a deep breath to clear my head, which was developing a steadily worsening headache, I walked over to a mound of the discarded books to badly damaged for use and sat down on it. 

I shut my eyes and decided to simply sit and do nothing for a bit, only for that plan to be obstructed by Avalon coming in, parchment in hand, with the mare from before by his side. He immediately saw me and rushed towards a burlap sack I hadn't noticed up until now, propped up on a table. He pulled out two apples from it and came towards me.

"Sir, please take this and eat."

He handed me the apples. I shuffled to the side, and understanding, Avalon came up and sat besides me. I ate quietly as a few moments of silent tranquility filled the air. That is of course, until Avalon spoke up.

"Sir?.."

He asked hesitantly, turning to look at me. I didn't say anything, I just looked at him and let him see the bags under my eyes. The undead don't bare any facial features that can give away how they feel, save for their eyes. And Avalon, though a little too eager to serve, always means well.

"Azazel, I'm here for you if you need me, but you need to tell me what's going on. I can't help if I don't know."

He asked, his normally stern and imposing voice now taking a concerned tone. This line of conversation normally goes down a spiral of nonsensical arguing about my double standards for him reading my mind. Recognizing the stupidity I am capable of sometimes made a small smile graze my lips and a hollow chuckle escape my lips. 

"Normally we would argue about you being allowed to peer inside my mind... but I don't feel like fighting..."

I stated dejectly.

"I don't want to fight you Azazel. I just don't want you to do something wreckless and get yourself killed."

Avalon explained putting a hand on my shoulder. I let out a sigh of resignation and shut my eyes as I mentally braced myself for a long explanation.

"Do you see that man, on the tree trunk?"

I asked Avalon. I heard the bones of his spine rotate towards where Saros lay asleep, then back at me.

"I do, sir."

He affirmed.

"Then let me tell you a story..."

///////Several hours later in Ponyville///////

The element bearers, Princess Luna, and Spike were sitting around in the Crystal Castle's library after being teleported there by Discord. The tired looking God of Chaos and Master of Anarchy had been informing the elements of everything that had happened in Canterlot Castle and what he had been doing for the last few days.

"So what yah tellin' us is that Princess Celestia has turned into a... Dark Alicorn was it?"

Applejack asked Discord with confusion lacing her voice.

"Yes... Much like what happened to us..."

Luna spoke for the first time in the long while she had spent in the library, in a quieted whisper that almost went unnoticed. Everypony then looked to her, and a sorrowful silence fell on the room. After a bit Discord spoke up again.

"I would agree with you were it not for something I noticed when she transformed. Which is why I wanted to talk to you all here, away from Celestia and any pony that might side with her simply because she is Celestia."

He stated, rubbing the space between of his eyes with his paw while squirming deeper into the large couch he manifested onto a vertical wall with him upside down. His statement caused everypony to look at him, including Luna, prompting him to continue.

"When dear old Celestia decided it would be fun to become a firecracker and get her make over, I saw something inside her... something I've never seen before."

He stated while getting off of the couch and hovering down to ground level, the couch disappearing with a magical poof. Discord looked over to Luna then over to Twilight.

"Pop quiz Twilight. Why are mind controlling spells part of what Equestria considers part of the dark arts?"

He asked, attempting to lighten the mood. Twilight, being oblivious to this, immediately perked up looked at him; read to answer his question.

"Spells such as the Indominus curse are considered part of the dark arts because they are a negation of a pony's free will. They allow the caster to control a pony's actions against their will while the victim is forced to simply watch helplessly as they act without autonomy."

She explained. 

"Correct, and I initially thought that was the case for Celestia's strange behavior recently. However, after what happened today I'm afraid it's something much worse."

Discord replied, which was then followed by a long groan of frustration to come from Rainbow Dash, who had been hovering near Fluttershy.

"Can you please just tell us what it is!? The suspense is killing me!"

She complained with worry in her voice. Discord shut his eyes and took a deep breath before answering her.

"I'm not very well versed when it comes to what necromancy has to offer, but I am aware that it encompasses the manipulation of souls. My chaos magic allows me to percieve the movements of spirits and souls among other things. However, I can't directly interact with said things unless I mess with how reality works."

He started. Only for Rainbow Dash to chime in.

"But isn't that, like, your thing?"

She asked unimpressed with where the conversation was going. Discord simply looked at her and deadpanned.

"It is, and unless you want me to make your mouth disappear you'll cut it out with your snarky remarks."

He threatened in a very calm, yet stern manner. Rainbow Dash winced at this and gave him a nervous chuckle while looking away.

"Anyway, the way that I use my chaos magic is very minimalistic. Like shifting gravity and transmutating air into say, I don't know, a piggy bank?-"

He began again, hovering in the air for a moment then dropping back down, and spontaneously creating a living piggy back into his claw. The living piggy bank oinked for a bit before Discord popped it like a balloon and out of existence with the talons of his lion paw.

"However, it becomes harder to mess with reality as you know it when the things that I want to mess with exist in an entirely separate plane of reality. With all of this in mind, I saw something latching onto Celestia's soul. It was... similar to Azazel but in terms of magical resonance, but whatever is clinging to Celestia is much more concentrated and is made almost entirely of the same strange magic that makes up his soul. Not only that, it's incredibly powerful, which shouldn't be possible, even with Azazel's ridiculous mana pool."

He explained, causing Fluttershy to gulp as she visualized Azazel devouring her animals.

"How powerful is he really?" 

Twilight asked. Discord began stroking his goatee with a pensive expression on his face.

"Well... If he was a pony he would have a mana pool on the same level of not slightly more charged than Starlight. Everypony stayed quiet for a while until Luna spoke up. 

"Azazel... did he do this to my sister?"

She asked, a hateful wrath beginning to seep into her voice and distort her face from a tired sulleness to a vengeful grimace. Her breathing had become heavy and seemed to be growing angrier by the second. Twilight and the girls immediately backed away from her, and Spike, picking up on the tense atmosphere decided it to be prudent to make himself scarce.

"I'm gonna go get Starlight." 

He said, before bolting it out of the room.

"While your anger at the situation is completely justified, I don't believe he's the one responsible for Cely's current predicament." 

He proposed, teleporting to her side and placing a claw on her shoulder. She looked into his eyes, letting him know he could continue.

"Do you remember what we talked about before we confronted Celestia?"

She nodded. As he spoke, an translucent chain and padlock of a golden magic began to materialize around Discord's mid section; making everypony's eyes widen.

"You told us that there was something that you needed to tell us, but couldn't because our sister made you swear yourself into secrecy in exchange for your freedom and promise that you'd genuinely try to take a step towards learning the magic of Friendship."

Luna reasoned, causing Discord to nod.

"I can't tell you directly because the spell would cause me to experience ridiculous amounts of pain that I have no intention of enduring."

He began, standing up and gingerly walking over to where everypony could see him.

"However, I think I may have a way of getting the message across without potentially ripping myself in two."

He finished, as he gave his explanation another Discord stood in the girls midst clapping and cheering while wearing a cheerleaders outfits. 

It wasn't until Discord said what would happen should he say whatever it was he wanted to say, that Twilight's eyes widened and her mouth was left hanging. Yet again she had witnessed something she never thought her mentor was capable.The other Discord pushed her jaw shut with a claw with a knowing smile on his face.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that darling?" 

Rarity asked. Discord chuckled as his double seemingly vanished as he took out his eye balls and began to juggle them.

"Well, the spell only prevents me from saying a certain word and the location of said word. However, I'm not restrained to describe what he is doing, or his current state of being."

Discord explained, throwing his eyeballs into the air and bending to catch them in his eye sockets. Blinking a few times, he returned to his more relaxed stance while upright.

"Him?"

Asked Fluttershy meekly. As she said this, Discord opened his mouth to answer on reflex, only for the chains around Discord's abdomen to coil themselves even tighter than before and hum with a dull whining sound. He immediately shut his mouth and the chains returned to their original tautness.

"I'm in hot water as it is, so I cannot say his name. My magic, although quite powerful, but it has its limits. I can't dispell this stupid padlock and it will change accordingly to fit my body should I wish to shapeshift. Only when Luna figures out who I will be hinting at, will I be freed from Celestia's spell of secrecy."

He explained sullenly towards Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie gasped with eyes that spoke of her boundless joy and excitement.

"I love charades!"

She cheered happily. Save for Pinkie, everypony's eyes locked onto Luna as she nodded in agreement. Discord then took a deep breath and raised his right paw. Snapping his digits, he was then draped in a ragged black hooded cloak.

"And there's your first clue."

He explained with a forced smile, the golden chain links clattering together as they tightened their grip around Discord. Everypony stayed silent, looking amongst each other; save for Princess Luna. She was ogling him with a perplexed look; Discord trying his best to look as calmly as he could while the anxiety the chains ravaged him.

"Forgive us, but we do not know who that cloak belongs to."

She apologized. 

"Then another clue might help."

He said, raising his claw again. He took a deep breath before snapping his fingers once more. In a magical poof, a navy blue shirt materialized onto Discord's body and under his cloak, seemingly fazing through his chains. When Luna laid eyes on the shirt, she squinted her eyes, looking him over. 

As this happened, the chains groaned and clattered together as they wrapped tighter against his form. Fluttershy looked more and more concerned for Discord as she could see through his bravado the panic he was feeling. Twilight picked up on this, and looked towards Luna. 

The diarch of the night's face went from confusion, to a terrified realization when she saw the shirt. As tears began to well in Luna's eyes, Twilight looked back over to Discord, and had just noticed the black crescent moon design just bellow the golden padlock.

"Discord... you don't mean..."

She began through a cracked voice that indicated she was on the verge of tears. As she asked, the chains around Discord's body tightened even more, and were now heating up to a painful degree. He shut his eyes and scrunged up his face to keep himself from shouting or spouting some form of profanity. 

When the initial shock became bearable, he nodded hurriedly. As Discord nodded vehemently, the chain around his body began constricting his breathing and was painfully crushing his chest.

"His name! Say his name!"

He pleaded, desperately pulling at the chain and padlock. Luna's tears began to flow freely as she uttered the name of the she believed to have died.

"Saros Cycle..."

She said quietly. Discord who had fallen over and was struggling to breathe, was more than relieved to discover that once Luna spoke, the padlock shattered and vanished. The mane 6 had gathered around him and gotten extraordinarily worried, Fluttershy chief among them. 

She wrapped him in her hooves in a living embrace that would put mister bear's strength to shame. Once Discord was allowed to breathe, he hugged her back and the group enjoy the tender moment for the moment that it lasted. 

As everypony now held smiles for Discord's renewed well-being, it was quickly made null and void when a sniffling sound came from behind them. Luna was looking at the still clothed Discord with tears running down her face.

"Discord, please... don't tell us Tia has lied to us... tell us this is all a cruel joke... please we are begging you..."

She pleaded, barely keeping what little composure she had left. Discord broke the hug between him and Fluttershy and walked over to Luna. Sitting by her side, he placed his paw over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Luna... I would've told you sooner, but if I had opened my mouth, your sister would have ended me to keep you from the truth."

Discord's gentle voice made Luna breakdown and wrap her hooves around the chaotic draconequus. Not wanting to deny her need for something to hold onto, he picked her up and let her cry into his shoulder. The two remained like this for a long while until Twilight spoke up.

"None of this makes any sense! Celestia would never want to cause any of this! Even before Azazel came here to Equestria she would never do something so cruel! And who is Saros Cycle?"

Twilight argued, disbelief filing her voice and curiosity driving her question. Discord raised looked over at Twilight with a look that caught her off guard: pity.

"The Celestia you know is a very different mare from who she was a millennia ago..."

He began, sadness dripping from his every word.

"Celestia has had to endure and cause a lot of pain and suffering to get to where she is now. Facing monsters, losing loved ones, entire cities demolished and torn to shreds to ensure the age of relative peace in which you live."

He continued. As Discord spoke, the girls huddled around him to listen more closely.

"To answer your question Twilight, Saros Cycle is Luna's adopted son."

Everypony's eyes, including the pink menace herself, went wide at the revelation. Luna's outburst of tears suddenly made sense.

"Hold on just one second. There's somethin' I don't understand. What did Princess Celestia lie to Princess Luna 'bout?" 

Applejack asked, causing Discord to check on Luna. She was still holding onto him, but she had fallen asleep. As if on cue, another Discord walked into the room and tapped the shoulder of the former Discord. They exchanged a knowing look before the doppleganger spoke up.

"I'll keep you covered here, go get Luna Twilight's bed so she can rest."

He offered in a hushed tone. The original Discord nodded and made his way out towards the master bedroom. The doppleganger sat down and smiled sheepishly before his expression changed to that of somepony remembering something they had forgotten.

"Oh I almost forgot to ask you Twilight. Is it alright if I lay Luna down on your bed while she's having a heart to heart with Saros?"

He asked, happily.

"Of course."

She deadpanned with a small roll of her eyes. Just as Twilight said this, Spike and Starlight came into the room. The pair were invited over with a series of waves from Pinkie Pie.

"I managed to get Mia to calm down, but she won't leave Trephor's side."

Starlight explained, sitting next to Twilight. Spike went around the girls and sat next to Twilight, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I use to think that skeletons were really scary, now I just feel bad for her. Whatever happened in Canterlot has her friend in a really rough shape."

He mused. Twilight picked up on it and held Spike close in an almost maternal show of affection. Discord smiled, content that the third hardest part of this whole ordeal was behind him.

"Alright, now that we're all here I'd like to make the disclaimer that this isn't a very happy story, but it will give you insight as to what really happened in Equestria's past.

///////////Meanwhile in the Castle of the two sisters deep in the Everfree//////////////

The son of the Grey God of Death sat with onyx skeleton, having just finished a retelling of his most recent dream.

"How do you know if he can be trusted?"

Avalon asked, looking over to the unconscious human. Azazel looked over to his bag, which lay on a table with some books pertaining to Equestrian magic and smiled.

"I will interrogate him when he rouses from his slumber. You see, it seems he has remained in the same weakened state he was when Celestia imprisoned him."

The half-blood necromancer explained as he rose from his seated position. His heavy footsteps reverberated around the library as he walked over to his belongings. He opened the bag on the table and pulled out the necronomicon left by his parents. He set the book on the table and continued to search the bag.

"Sir, I feel like I should inform you that what is left of your gauntlet was placed in the bag."

Avalon commented, and right on cue, Azazel found it. He pulled out the relatively clean gauntlet and looked it over. The metallic plating was warped and stunk of holy fire to the demon's sensitive nose. 

Taking a deep breath, he unleashed a small plume of hellfire from his mouth and used it to heat up the metal. Bending the metal back into place, the now blackened gauntlet lay enveloped in smoke on the table on the opposite side of the bag. He then closed the satchel and took the book and gauntlet, walking towards the slumbering human.

"I'm not so foolish to think that there is not a possibility he would betray me. And as such I have a counter to any form treasonous behavior."

Azazel explained with the tome in hand. Avalon moved towards his master as the book was suspended in the air by a telekinetic spell. The book opened and pages fluttered by until finally settling on a page towards the middle. Written the language of demons, Avalon found it impossible to read the abyssal text.

"Master? What is this?"

The onyx skeleton asked.

"Indominus Kor' Meum. It is a variation of my mother's mind control spell."

The demon explained with a confident smirk on his face as he pointed towards a drawing of his sigil.

"What does it do, exactly?"

Avalon asked.

"Although it does not grant me the ability to dominate their will completely, I can force the victim to perform or abstain from any action I desire without robbing them of their conscious thoughts and actions. The name of the person casting the spell must be carved into a control point, then it must be infused with Argent energy while I say the spell's name and focus on the target. Once that is done, the name of the caster will appear over the victims heart as a permanent scar that can only be removed if the control point is destroyed or the spell is uttered backwards by the caster."

Azazel disclosed, the tome floating to his side and promptly closing once in his free hand.

"I see. What about the God of Chaos who sent you the letter?" 

Avalon asked. 

"Once Saros is at full strength, we will have the strength to challenge him and win."

Azazel clarified.

"And the Elements?..."

The ashen undead countered, fearing that his master wouldn't have a plan for the heroes of Equestria.

"They are bound to the bearers, without one of the bearers, the set becomes useless. We have nothing to fear."

The young demon stated, confident that his plan would work. Seeing that his master, much like his father before him, was one step ahead! Avalon let out a sigh of relief before speaking up one last time.

"Is there anything I can help you with then?"

He offered. 

"Find something sharp and hard for me to use as a chisel."

Azazel ordered. With a nod, Avalon left to find the requested item, leaving Azazel to look over at the human lying out cold on his impromptu bed by himself. 

Seeing the slumbering human made him question what he was doing, but the doubt in his mind was soon drowned under the memory of what had happened to the human and his friends. He would not let another one of his caretakers be destroyed, and with a will stronger than steel, his mind was made and his heart was set.