//------------------------------// // The Madgod's Nature: It's All Just a Game // Story: The Madgod's Freedom // by _No_One_Remains_ //------------------------------// Discord sat comfortably beside his pony-form friend as the royal ponies went to town on the swarm of rats that had burrowed into essentially every dish placed on the luxurious table. The pastas, veggies, and even the cakes couldn’t be spared from the disgusting vermin. Of course, unlike Parasprites, there was only so much damage a swarm of rats could do. Having only disturbed the actual food, cleaning the mess would be a simple task. And so, waiting for somepony to ask for useless assistance, the draconequus floated leisurely aside while he nibbled on a block of cheese. Sheo-Aegis sat against the far wall, his head throbbing and arms wobbling. The rat ordeal had taken its toll on the Pony-Madgod’s physical body, and he knew that if he attempted to use any more magic before getting some rest, things would go horribly wrong for him. It didn’t take very long for the princesses to have all the rats bagged up and disposed of. While they were working on the creatures, the Elements were in the kitchen helping to re-prepare the foods for the special dinner. As the two royals were leaving the dining hall to join their friends in the kitchen, Princess Celestia commanded, “You are to guard this room with your life, Discord! We can’t afford another issue. I’ll be surprised if we can actually get the food prepared in time!” Serious determination shined from her eyes as she spoke. Sheo-Aegis chuckled, “Well, I had best be getting back to my post!” The Pony-Madgod attempted to cross the threshold with the princesses, but was repelled by a light push from Luna’s horn. “Oh no, you’re staying here as well. Keep any and all pests from so much as touching that table!” Before anypony could respond, the doors slammed shut, followed by an audible clicking noise. Discord sighed, “They actually locked us in here! As if that would really work.” With a smug grin, he drifted around in the air, content knowing that no other pests would dare bother them. Sheogorath, leaving his body to rest for a moment, laughed, “They said to keep all pests out, right? I suppose we shouldn’t let them back in then!” This evoked an odd chuckle from his companion. He continued with a grimace, “This limited magic is starting to piss me off!” The draconequus scoffed, “Oh calm down. It’s not as if you had no clue that your powers would be limited.” Continuing to float gently around the room, he chuckled, “And besides, if your time runs out in that body, you can just get a new one, right?” The Madgod sighed, “Yes, I suppose I can. But if the next is just as weak as this one, there would be no point!” The pony shell’s arm twitched as if it were waking up. “Looks like the puppet’s trying to gain control…” the abomination observed. Sheogorath burst into laughter, “Fat chance! That bastard’s still locked safe inside your room, living a perpetual nightmare!” Almost instantly, he realized what he had said. He hoped there would be no questions asked. He hated questions, especially when they called on his confusing mindset. “What exactly do you mean ‘locked inside my room’? Is there something I should know?” A ball dropped in Discord’s gut. The sense of dread that’d been eating at his mind for some time grew stronger. With a slight frown, the Madgod growled, “There are only two people I can possess: a body with a broken mind, and a willing body.” He let the information sink in before continuing with a chuckle, “I had to break Aegis’s mind! I love breaking minds, you know!” His companion gasped, “And so you mean to say that Aegis will never be Aegis again? Even when you leave, he’ll be just as insane as you?” The abomination wasn’t certain how to feel about that revelation. Anger and admiration danced upon the tip of his brain, vying for a place in his demeanor. The Ex-Prince of Madness chimed, “Weeeell, not quite! You see, I had to break the mind to take the body. And now, as I hold so much power, the body will eventually break.” Certain that his companion wasn’t following him, he continued, “In other words, when I’m expelled from the body, it will die.” “So anypony you possess ends up a corpse?!” Discord snapped, the anger winning the dance of emotions. “That’s horrible! I love chaos as much as the next guy, but I’d never kill anypony!” Sheogorath replied with a sneer, “No, you’d only make them wish they were dead. At least I’m kind enough to end their suffering!” He snickered at the thought of anything he did being kind. Daedric Princes aren’t kind. Never have been, never will be. The draconequus took a moment to collect his thoughts. He sighed, “Is there no way to put the mind and body back together once you’re finished?” The response he received was a simple, “Nope.” “But… Can’t you leave the body with just a bit of life left?” Again, “Nope.” Anger began to swell within the chaotic beast. He snapped, “Why not?!” Sheogorath laughed, “Because once a mind is taken from the body, it cannot be glued back together. The mind is like a priceless Faberge egg. When it falls and shatters, you can’t simply forge the pieces back into place. And even when you do, there will always be obvious flaws. No, once a mind is broken, it cannot be restored.” “Why would you do something like that? Why couldn’t you just find a willing body?” “Listen to your words, Discord!” the Madgod snapped, growing tired of having to explain himself. “How many ponies would be willing to sacrifice their bodies for a strange entity they’ve never seen?” “I…But…” Discord’s argument ended with that question. He had no response. The dining room’s doors opened with haste as a stream of ponies flooded in, each carrying an exquisite dish fit for pony-royalty. Sheogorath rejoined Aegis’s body, feeling that he’d won the argument. The Pony-Madgod passed slowly by the abomination, pausing to whisper one last comment. “Your emotions betray your powers, Chaos.” With that one comment, Discord was plunged deep into his own thoughts. He considered everything he just learned, briefly considering alerting the princesses to Sheogorath’s actions. It didn’t take long to dispel those thoughts, as he knew he had no proof aside from what would soon be Aegis’s corpse. Besides, who would believe him about an invisible talking biped that had just as much power as he did? If he hoped to solve the problem, he’d need to do it in secret, on his own time. So instead of racking his brain in the hopes of finding some way to stop the Madgod, he decided to join the rest of the ponies in setting the table for the soon-to-follow dinner. He broke from his thoughts just in time to hear Sheo-Aegis comment, “There doesn’t seem to be enough cheese here, Princess. Perhaps there’s time to make another dish?” The Pony-Madgod received strange looks from the royal ponies. Celestia sighed, “I’m afraid there’s not. Our guests should be here any second.” “What a shame…” he sighed. Then he laughed, “Okay then, I’ll see them in!” With a passing grin, Sheo-Aegis trotted from the dining hall, winding his way to the front gates of the castle. A feeling of intense anger flourished in Discord’s mind, knowing that the dangerous psycho was up to something. But even though he knew without doubt that the Madgod was evil at his core, he couldn’t help but admire his friend’s work ethic. An hour passed as the guards escorted guests to the dining hall, where they were greeted by the smiling faces of the big-name castle crowd. Sheo-Aegis, beaming with wild enjoyment, happily guided pony after pony into the room where a mere two hours ago he had spawned a hundred disease-infested rodents… Ponies gathered all around the table, feasting on the delicacies placed upon it. At the head of the table sat Princess Celestia, and to her sides were the Elements, three on each. Princess Luna was seated at the opposite end from her sister, two of her most loyal Night Guards seated by her. Along the length of the table sat assorted ponies. Mostly friends and relatives of the Elements, such as the ex-guard captain and his wife, with a few big name Canterlot celebrities joining in just to say they ate with the princess. This was the perfect scenario for Sheogorath. He absolutely loved large gatherings, especially when he had ideas. And boy, did he have ideas aplenty this evening! Discord wasn’t quite as excited. He sat to Luna’s right, just beside Prince Blueblood, second in line along the length of the table. Directly across from him sat the pony-form Madgod. Rather than eating as would be customary, the abomination kept his eyes glued to the psycho for any signs of suspicious behavior. Throughout the beginning of the dinner, there was none. Most of the ponies carried on usual small talk, relaxing and enjoying the meals they were graced with. Despite being prepared last-minute, everypony found the food exquisite. Even Sheo-Aegis was surprised by the quality of the consumables. There just wasn’t enough cheese on the salad. Or the potatoes. You can’t eat potatoes without cheese! And it was when he started to eat a particularly-buttery baked potato when somepony noticed something off about Aegis. The pony seated directly beside him, closer to Luna, paid strenuous attention to his neighbor’s eating habits at the dinner. He whispered, “Hey brother, I thought you couldn’t eat dairy?” Discord couldn’t hold back a smile at the impostor’s reaction. Sheo-Aegis’s eyes opened wide as he essentially slammed the potato back on his plate. Posing as another pony doesn’t work if you have to be around someone who actually knows the person. Of everything Sheogorath had learned through the pony’s mind, eating habits had not been one. Aegis’s brother continued after a short silence, “Didn’t you say it tears your stomach to shreds?” A suspicious frown covered his face, feeling something was amiss. Sheo-Aegis groaned, “Ah yes, but this is a special occasion! I’m sure I can handle one potato.” He lifted the vegetable back up to his mouth. “Yeah, that’s cool, but that’s like your third one.” Discord’s eyes met Aegis’s brother’s. Suspicion almost flooded from them. Forgetting your own intolerances on top of having a distorted voice screamed impostor. In fact, Discord was almost positive that the guard was about to stand up and make an announcement about his suspicions. That was until Sheo-Aegis beat him to the punch. “Fillies and gentlecolts!” he began. Discord watched as the Daedric prince split from the guard captain’s body. The humanoid leaped over the table, landing just behind the abomination, who couldn’t react due to all eyes being pointed in his general direction. Shegorath chuckled into his friend’s ear, “That body’s just run out of usefulness. You might want to watch your head.” Aegis continued, “I find that this meal is severely lacking in processed dairy, don’t you?” Met with confused frowns and annoyed glares, he simply continued, “So I declare a remedy to this situation! CHEESE…FOR…EVERYONE!” A beam of green burst from his horn, and the ceiling to the room suddenly disappeared, revealing the bright night sky above them. Off to the side, unnoticed by all, the Madgod laughed maniacally. He always loved that line, and what followed after. A boom of thunder shook the table and the ponies sitting at it. Something made a splash in the pot of soup at the center of the table. Shining Armor, the closest to the pot, picked it out with his magic. It was a huge wheel of Eidar Cheese, from the province of Skyrim in Tamriel. Then the crash of a shattering plate followed. Big Macintosh, the brother of Applejack, flinched away as pieces of his dish flew in all directions. Where it had been sat another wheel of the cheese. The princesses looked up in unison, and both let out shocked gasps. What appeared to be thousands of wheels were falling from the sky, plummeting right toward the dining hall. Celestia commanded, “Everypony duck!” Launching a beam of magic into the air to—hopefully—prevent some of the damage, she led the others in a harmonized fall under the table. Sheogorath laughed maniacally as Discord flew to his side. Aegis stood in place with his hooves raised, joints shaking wildly in exhaustion. The draconequus summoned a sturdy umbrella into his hand with which to block the falling cheese. The two powerful creatures shared glares. The Madgod chuckled, “Just be glad it isn’t exploding cheese! I’ve done that before, you know. Wiped out an entire village with the stuff. Talk about allergic to dairy!” He looked up just in time to watch a wheel obliterate the bowl of pasta near Celestia’s seat. Discord growled, “How dare you?! Somepony could be killed, you psychotic monster!” “Isn’t that the point?” The Daedra’s grin caused a lump to form in the beast’s throat. “A better question is, why haven’t you stopped the rain with your powers?” Wheels of cheese continued to bombard the dining hall as the two shared blank stares. The sudden realization that that was a possible course of action almost made the master of chaos explode with rage. He snapped his claws with violent force, stopping the cheese’s descent instantly. He roared, “If you ever do something like this again, I’ll see to it that it’s the last mistake you make!” With an audible popping noise, the cheese vanished, and the ceiling returned to its place. Celestia was the first to recover her chair. Unaware of the Madgod’s presence, she boomed angrily, “Captain Aegis, what is the meaning of this insanity?!” At the sound of her voice, the other guests recovered their seats, each with a look of angry curiosity locked on the apparent cause of the commotion. Aegis hopped up onto the table and laughed, “Oh, you know, I just thought we could use some cheese!” “We could’ve been killed, Aegis!” Shining Armor groaned. Having been the previous guard captain, he trained the current target of their anger to use his magic for important purposes. “Oh nonsense! You all took cover, didn’t you?” A grin began to stretch across the pony’s face, unnatural and creepy. Discord sighed, “Perhaps we shouldn’t place the blame entirely on him. After all, any number of strange things could’ve manipulated him.” His eyes darted to the spot where the invisible Sheogorath stood. “Lighten up, everypony!” Aegis scoffed. “After all, it was just…for a little…fun…” With that last word, the pony collapsed onto the table. A sudden sense of concern replaced the anger as a bright golden light burst from his chest. It shot toward Sheogorath, who took it without concern. A piece of him duly returned. The process of splitting from the body was much less trouble than joining it. Its direction went unnoticed by the crowd of concerned dinner guests. Even if they had watched it, they wouldn’t have seen its destination. To them, it would have simply disappeared into thin air. Discord was the only one aware of the light’s owner, and he knew nopony would believe him if he spoke up about it. So he was left to wallow angrily as the Madgod strolled from the room, whistling an old tune from the Shivering Isles. The ponies gathered around Aegis as his body stopped its twitching. The breathing ceased. Being pronounced dead, most of the ponies began to freak out. His brother fell to the ground in sorrow. Discord knew what had happened. He just didn’t know how to stop it from happening again. Though hours ago they had been ‘friends’, sharing a mutual love of all things abnormal, what the Madgod had done was unforgiveable in Discord’s book. Actually killing another living creature was something the abomination couldn’t allow to go unpunished. Mischief was one thing, but murder was something completely new. Deep down, the draconequus knew what needed to be done. Despite the anger that overwhelmed him at the moment, the master of chaos couldn’t help but admire the Madgod’s ability to disregard others’ health just to have his own fun. There was a point in time when the two were no different. And yet, somehow, the abomination had been driven from his old ways, caught between the ties of freedom and friendship. Now a strange being from another world threatened to throw the entirety of Equestria into chaos, despite Chaos’s reformation. It would all come down to who had the most devotion to their powers. Would it be Madness’s bliss, or Chaos’s chains?