Steel. He could smell it. He could taste it. He could almost see it. He could feel it.
Pressing against his throat. The sharp edge of a blade. When his brain finally registered what it was, his eyes jolted open. He was in an arena; columns sprang up in the middle, with silhouettes flooding the stands above them. Blood painted the walls of the arena like blue on the sky, with grates that seemed to lead to pitch blackness taking in the excess life force.
Discord was in a coliseum, one he probably wasn’t meant to survive. Above him, in the orange light of the sunset, stood Sheogorath, eyes filled with insanity, a steel blade fully extended. With a large grin he chuckled, “I see you went to sleep. That’s quite rude!”
Fear paralyzed the beast. For the first time in his life, he was staring death in the face…literally. He stammered, “Wh-where are we, Madgod?”
“I dunno. Looks like an arena. All I know is they gave me a blade. They told me to kill you, so I think I will!” He lifted the blade with frightening speed, sending it downward to decapitate the abomination.
With barely a second to spare, the beast regained his senses and warped away, safe from the blade’s reach. He scoffed, “I thought you had at least a shred of honor. Or does honor mean nothing to Daedra?” Discord took the time to examine the arena more closely.
Where a normal coliseum would hang banisters, a grotesque sight waited for him. Certain ponies were hung throughout the top of the stonework. They were held in place by chains wrapped around their torsos. Alive, capable of breathing, but most definitely in pain. They were the crowd from the throne room. The Elements and Princesses, much to Discord’s horror, were being tormented by being forced to watch the battle.
Even the dead ponies were there, as if they hadn’t suffered enough.
Sheogorath laughed maniacally, “Honor means nothing if you can’t live to tell about it!” He launched his sword at the opponent, causing yet another teleport.
“How did we get here?” the fleeing beast asked.
“How indeed?! I don’t care much! I just want you dead!” Magic burst from the Madgod’s hands, threatening to swallow the abomination with ease.
Chaotic magic rejected the Madness, parrying the blow. Discord sighed, “I take it only one of us will make it out of here?”
“Alive, yes.”
“Then it must be me!” Discord summoned a large rock golem from the ground, a puppet as tough as the earth itself.
Sheogorath chuckled, “Impressive. I can do that too. Except mine’s electric!” He held true to his claim. A beast double the size of Discord’s appeared in a cloud of black smoke, electricity coursing through its joints. It blasted the smaller golem into dust.
The ponies up top began to stir, waking from whatever sleep they were in, permanent or otherwise. Down below, it was obvious who had the advantage.
Discord directly blasted the Madgod’s golem, hoping to dispel it. It worked, but with a sad side effect. Debris from the golem, propelled by wind, smashed into some of the innocent bystanders above. Cries of intense pain erupted from each one as the chains tightened, crushing them closer to the wall.
Sheogorath flinched, “This is a sick arena!” Then he laughed, “Maybe I can make this my new Xedillian!”
“Shut it, you sick monster!” A blast of green pierced the Daedra’s stomach.
Rolling his eyes, he sighed, “That’s it. I’ve had enough of this. No more games.”
What happened next was horrifying. Everything stopped. The ponies froze in place, their previous shrieks of pain echoing around the arena. The dust settled. The silhouettes in the stands stopped moving. Everything literally stopped around them.
Discord watched it all. He could hear everything, yet he couldn’t move. Sheogorath slowly stepped toward him, his hand emanating a deep black aura. He chuckled grimly, “You tried to stop me. You really shouldn’t have done that. Enjoy the view of your own death.”
The aura slowly reached out toward him. Crippling nausea found its way to the draconequus’s stomach. A splitting headache blinded him. The black aura swallowed his body, an eerie cold washing over him. Just when he felt as if he was falling into the realm of the unconscious, a golden light washed away the black.
Vision returned just in time to see Sheogorath turn around in disbelief. He screamed, “Impossible! No one’s ever survived my Daedric Soul Trap!”
No voice would come to the beast’s throat. His muscles were still paralyzed. He managed to look up and see Celestia’s horn glowing, obviously the source of the golden warmth that had saved him. As soon as it faded, the chains tightened. Discord could almost see the bones shatter. If there had been a shriek, his ears didn’t let him hear it.
“No matter. There might be a use for you yet, Chaos.” Sheogorath lifted the beast up in one hand by the throat. He stared deep into the helpless creature’s eyes. “I still need a body. You have enough power to be acceptable. But I can’t use you if you’re consumed with morals.”
The draconequus couldn’t look away. The Daedra’s eyes were mesmerizing. They held a type of charm that couldn’t be found in Equestria. They were definitely demonic.
The Madgod continued with a growl, “Submit to me, Chaos! Denounce your putrid reformation, and serve the Madness wholly!” A violent shake accompanied the words, stressing the intensity of this situation.
Discord’s muscles were freed from the demon’s spell. His vocal cords were functional again. But now was the time for an ultimate decision. He could live as a puppet or die as a helplessly free monster. He could betray his friends and save himself, or he could hold on to his new values and die. He desperately looked up at the ponies hanging around the arena.
Celestia, Luna, Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all stared down, their eyes flooding with tears and pain. Whether this was real to them or not, the sight disgusted the abomination. Even though he had been evil not too long ago, he felt as if everything he’d witnessed the last few days went beyond evil. If he turned back to his old ways and let the monster possess him, he would be responsible for doing these atrocities to countless other ponies.
But his mind shifted back to freedom. Submitting to the Madgod would allow for him to use his powers without remorse. Though he wouldn’t technically be in control, he would still be able to experience the joys of Chaos. Unlike Aegis, whose mind and spirit had been ripped apart, Discord would be able to experience everything the Madgod made him. He would be able to feel the magic coursing through his body, though not directly in control.
And to a beast consumed by chaotic desires, freedom sang like a canary.
“…Very well Madgod. You have a deal,” came the beast’s chuckle. Despite the inkling of guilt that seemed to be resting on the back of his mind, the abomination decided he wanted to be free. After all, look at all the good his desire to protect his friends had done. Ponies had died, and he was on the verge of joining them. No, the good side was without a doubt weaker.
Sheogorath did a double take. “Really? Was that easy, was it?” he chuckled, casting a dark grin toward the bound ponies above. “I’m afraid words are worthless nowadays, Chaos. I’ll need a little more proof before I go sending you back to your world.”
Discord scoffed, “Having power and not using it is a waste. The fact that I haven’t seen that before kills me!” He squirmed slightly under the Madgod’s grip before continuing, “What kind of proof do you need?”
With a grin resembling that of a Changeling, the Ex-Prince of Madness cast his gaze upward. He sighed, “Kill them. Kill them, and any trace of the Elements within you will be lost. Then I’ll know you can be trusted.”
“Is this truly necessary?” The guilt surfaced in the beast’s mind. He wanted freedom and his full power back, but at the same time he wasn’t willing to kill a pony. The strangest sensation overcame the plagued beast. Almost as if his mind was being clouded by some outside force. The thought of murder felt familiar, yet he couldn’t recall any memories of such an act.
Had he ever killed a pony before? Maybe. Or was he mistaken for somepony else? No, it had to have been him. Nopony else had his kind of powers. But what about the Madgod? Could he have done it? No. The Madgod hadn’t been around long enough to. Or had he? It wasn’t possible. But then…had he killed somepony? Could he have killed somepony?
…
Sheogorath chuckled darkly as the draconequus’s eyes slowly faded. The yellow of his whites and the red of his irises simply disappeared. Pure white orbs remained in their sockets. Completely and utterly insane, his mind locked in an eternal battle of uncertainty and broken ambitions.
It was quite entertaining to watch his mind shatter. No real work had been required on the Madgod’s part.
The humanoid was kicked back on the throne of Canterlot Castle, the ponies that had stood up to him lying in an unconscious heap. The abomination was closer to the throne, writhing in mental anguish. While three of the ponies were entirely dead, the other five could be salvaged for servants. All that was left was to wait for the Madness to fully possess the beast, and Equestria would be his for the taking.
The vortex had been a nice touch. Sheogorath admired a good show before defeating his opponents. That’s why so many mortals had been forced to watch themselves fall hundreds of feet through the air to a stone shrine in the Shivering Isles. It was a simple task to use his Madness to assimilate the Chaos and create a cyclone of magical energies.
And the illusion that had come afterward was an even greater work of art. The demon and the beast would carry on an intense battle for a few moments while he played the image of the ponies suffering in agonizing pain. And, after several minutes of toying with the abomination, he would offer the comfort of Madness to seal the deal. It was all a matter of patience, and that patience had paid off.
Once Discord’s mind settled into a stable shape, Sheogorath would have the combined strength of Chaos and Madness at his disposal. Nopony would be able to deny him. He would control every last creature in Equestria, if not the world. Perhaps the rulers of any other provinces would be willing to negotiate a peace treaty. A few slaves a month would be a small price to pay for the people’s sanity, right?
Only a few slaves a month. Gotta make sure there are enough to go around!
“You’re a fool, Madgod!”
That voice. I feel like I hate that voice.
On the far side of the throne room, beyond the writhing bodies of maddening ponies, where the Madgod’s newest door had been placed, a large silver monolith sprung from the ground, emitting a faint glow. An all-too-familiar glow, Sheogorath mused. And there in the glow, a large figure began to form. A humanoid, twice as tall as the current king of Equestria, with a body at least three times the girth.
“Jyggalag! My good pal! What brings you to my neck of the cosmos?” The Ex-Prince of Madness’s voice flooded with buried anger. It was because of the Daedra before him that he was even in this throne room. Which, depending on how you looked at it, could be a good thing.
The large armored figure seemed to look around the room, taking in the colors of the realm. He scoffed, “Is this what my other half has been doing? Conquering weak little quadrupeds?” Turning directly toward the pile of shuddering ponies, he continued, “I use the term ‘conquer’ loosely.”
“What do you want, Jyggalag?” Something about the Prince of Order made Sheogorath calm down. It was as if he wasn’t Mad at the moment.
The large brute laughed, “You realize you are only here because of me, don’t you?”
The Madgod responded with a snide laugh, “Actually, I’m here because my Champion kicked your ass. What’s your point?”
“Our brothers want you to return. They want to give back what I stole from you.”
“You mean the Isles? Which era? First, second?” the Daedric prince spat.
Jyggalag groaned, “They want you to be a part of Oblivion again, brother.”
“Who needs Oblivion? It’s so dull and boring, always disconnected from Nirn like it is. I’d rather be active in the mortal world. Could you imagine? I wouldn’t have to rely on my worshippers!” Sheogorath chuckled, spawning a cup of wine to sip on.
“You would have your powers back. You would have your realm.”
“No, actually, I wouldn’t. You gave my realm to my Champion. And, for what it’s worth, I still have my powers.” He downed his entire glass of red liquid.
“The offer is on the table, Madgod. Have your fun and come back to us. The Daedric circle isn’t complete without us all. The planes of Oblivion wane after Dagon’s mortal failure.” The brute turned to step back into the silver obelisk.
Sheogorath laughed, “If I’m not back by the end of the year, give my Champion a call. I think he loves Madness just like I do.” With a light wave, the Madgod watched his prison leave the realm. Looking back down at the writhing draconequus, he smiled.
I’m an equal-opportunity employer, Discord. If you kill me, I let you rule my realm!