//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: Realms of Discord 
// by Chilly Quill 
//------------------------------//

The air in the room grew tense as the hooded ponies drew closer to the crowd, black tendrils sneaking about the floor. “We are terribly resentful that all of you have to be involved in this grim business.” Shadow said calmly. “We never intend on bringing the public into our affairs.”
“You don't seem to be as hesitant on killing bystanders though.” Summer Sun snapped. The ponies glanced at her, though, and she quickly withdrew, hiding behind her brother.
“Our business is the expansion and retrieval of all chaotic material and land in any matter we see fit.” Grief hissed. “If that requires us to make use of the darker half of ponkind, then so be it. This is all for the grandeur of chaos, to bring the realm into an eternal state of beauteous disorder!”
Nigma stood up, staring down Grief. “Your definition of chaos seems a little grim. If you haven't noticed, things are already chaotic enough without your people mucking things up.”
A tendril lashed out at Nigma and sent him flying back into the crowd. Everyone gathered around him as a deep gash in his flank began to pour out blood, blotting out his cutie mark. Discord could only stand by as the others helped Nigma try and stand. “You've made a huge mistake.” Discord cackled. “I could care less about the others, but nopony lays a hand on my protégé.”
Shadow and Grief grinned as their tendrils leaked out in strange patterns. “We know enough about you and your student, False God. A chaotic being claiming to be the great god Discord? We have more disharmony in our hooves than you do in your entire serpentine body!”
Discord only chuckled as he snapped his fingers. The floor around the two flashed into a bright pink, which they quickly began to sink into. “Cotton candy quicksand.” Discord said flatly. “Not the best of my ideas but it served for a few laughs during my last reign.”
Nigma's eyes lit up at the sight of the familiar delicious death-trap. “I don't know about that one, but I preferred the taffy beasts.”
Discord grinned, snapping his fingers again. A hulking beast of purple taffy spawned in front of the two helpless ponies. The two were picked up in its hands and devoured in an instant. 
Chilly Quill shrugged. “Seems a little easy. Why not freeze them in a vat of gelatin?” Discord sighed and changed the taffy into a pillar of clear jelly, the hooded ponies stuck screaming inside. 
Despite everything, the tendrils continued about their maddening path around the room. While the others paid them no mind, Innate had been mesmerized by the strange lines left behind by the black magic. After a while, though, the intent had become clear. “Fellows?” He said nervously. “I think we might have a problem here.”
All the ponies not otherwise occupied with torturing the invaders turned to the now glowing lines painted around the floor. Sharp and Flat Note walked up to them and tapped at the residue with their hooves. “It’s nothing but magic.” Sharp announced. “We can’t scratch them off.”
“Not that the marks are doing much.” Flat added. “None of the symbols make any sense.”
Innate shivered as he examined the tendrils’ work. It was now apparent that they were making a circle. “Those seals look like what I work with during my trips in the tombs.” Innate whispered. He walked up to one of the scratches and tapped it with his horn. The magic ink lit up in a terrifying red and Innate shrieked. “It’s a sealing spell! They’re locking up our magic again!”
The shout commanded the attention of the entire room and everypony turned at the tentacle approaching the end of the circle. No words were needed and everypony tried to stop the closing. Innate-closest to the black slither- tried blasting the magic apart but the sly magic was sentient. The blasts only met wood as the freakish tentacle weaved around the shots.
The note twins tried their best to barricade the end of the circle but were met with resistance by the unoccupied tentacles. As many objects that the twins would put in the end path, the tentacles would either rip apart or shove aside. Eventually Flat attempted to drag their opponent away from the furniture, only to be tied up by the creatures.
Crabapple tried to simply crush the tentacle under his hoove but met up with only ground. Nigma and Discord were stuck keeping the two prisoners in a melting gelatin mold while Nigma shivered in place, unsure of what to do. As much as Wild Mint had wanted to help, Summer Sun was adamant on not only abstaining from the fight but on holding her brother hostage in her hooves.
Despite their best efforts, the tentacle arrived at the end of the circle planting the remains of its body in the space as ink. The circle lit up almost immediately in a flash of red and purple light. The light swirled around the unicorns and Discord, seeping into their bodies. Almost as soon as the light show began it had ended, leaving the affected party lying on the ground panting as their magic was ripped away from them.
Without Discord and Nigma, the hooded ponies found no resistance in their delicious prison and melted the jelly like the pseudo-liquid it was. “That was truly distressing.” Grief gasped. “I should know; my talent is in stressing out ponies.”
Nopony felt the need to mention the disturbing talent the pony possessed. For most it was out of fear of what the comment would bring. For others it was simply because they were trying to figure out what such a talent would look like as a cutie mark.
Shadow brushed out his cloak with a stray tendril, summoning up the rest of the thralls. “Well you and your false god have had quite enough fun. It is time you feel pain.”
“What kind of pain could you bring beyond stripping me of what makes me?” Discord hissed. Half of his body appeared to have decayed without his magic, revealing age that even Nigma had never seen from the Draconequus. 
Shadow grinned. “I actually have a few ideas involving my friends here.” The tendrils lashed out at the Draconequus and snapped at his decrepit body. Parts that met the black magic simply faded into dust with nothing but a whimper from the weakened Discord. Everypony looked away, helpless to help their friend. 
Without warning, however, the snap of the whip simply silenced. Shadow gasped as he watched Crabapple holding the magical thrall in his mouth. “This ends now.” The stallion grunted. He snapped the whip down and yanked away from Shadow who screamed as the connection to him was abruptly severed. A chunk of his body went flying with the magical limb and he fell over, putting his hoof desperately on the hole in his side.
Crabapple glanced over at the fallen blade at the other side of the room. With a single movement he sent his newly acquired whip flying at the knife and picked it up without effort in the magical body. He looked over at Wild Mint and shouted. “Heads up Mint!” The blade went flying towards Mint’s head at such an intense velocity that Nigma could swear the knife would slide right up to the hilt into Mint’s skull.
Much to everypony’s surprise, Mint caught it effortlessly in his mouth, the hilt held firmly between his teeth. Summer released her brother and Mint went charging towards Grief, who had frozen when he saw his partner in such pain. He snapped out of his trance and prepared himself to guard against a mouth swipe. 
As Mint approached, though, he flicked the blade in the air. He jumped up and slapped it with his forehoof, jamming the hilt in his groove. Grief ended up with an unexpected hoof bucking him off balance as Mint spun around and slashed at him with the knife. A gash opened up on Grief’s shout and he stumbled back further. Mint kept pressing on him, though, the blade creating wound upon wound.
Crabapple walked up to an end of the circle and smashed down on the wood with his hoof. The wood splintered apart and the circle winked out. He whistled to Nigma and tapped over at Shadow. The fallen pony had begun to lead his tentacles into the wound to seal it up and was slowly standing up. Nigma and Crabapple rushed over to him, the latter smashing into him while the former lit up his horn and charging up a knockout spell. As soon as Crabapple cleared the pony Nigma whipped the spell at Shadow’s head, smacking right into the skull and knocking him out cold.
Grief had also been detained, now being held against the wall at knife-point. Discord slowly got up with the help of the Note Twins, walking to the center of the room. His form had slowly begun to weave back together as his magic returned to him. “This was quite the tussle.” He said weakly, eying the captured assailants. “I suppose we were lucky you two had no clue how to kill and wasted time talking.” He motioned for the two to be brought before him, Crabapple dragging Shadow up while Grief was led up by Mint. 
Shadow was slapped awake by a spell from Nigma and the two met the cold gaze set upon them by Discord and the other ponies. “You two are clearly beyond the punishment the government could bestow.” He hissed. “If I know my own Chaos they’d probably release you for some stupid reason.”
“If anything it would because of lack of evidence.” Flat Note commented.
Discord only grunted. “It only seems fit that the ponies before you decide and administer your fate.” Discord grinned as he saw the eyes of almost all the ponies lit up with glee. If there was anything he was certain of, it was that all ponies took delight in watching justice be delivered. 
Rose Wind was the first to step up to the two, eying them with her bug-like eyes. “I think we should give them a cruel taste of irony. Enslave them and make them do everything they abhor.”
Crabapple was next. He didn’t say anything but simply brought his hoof down next to Shadow’s leg. The two ponies stared at the hoof in shock. They didn’t need anyone to tell them he intended on breaking limbs. He walked back to Wild Mint and Summer Sun, his gaze never breaking.
Summer Sun tried walking up to make her own contribution but was pushed back by Mint and Crabapple. She shrank back, fearing the disapproval of her family.
Chilly Quill was the last to walk up; his eyes and horn alight with energy buildup. “I personally think we trap them inside a nightmare.” He mused. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to put an illusion INSIDE the brain. They say they don’t wear off that way.” Everypony shouted in approval and the two prisoners shrieked. 
Chilly let the pent-up magic out at the hooded ponies without warning, the magic crashing into their skulls. The screaming became unbearable for a moment before they simply stopped, all signs of activity vacating their bodies. Their eyes glazed over and they fell over completely comatose.
Nigma and Mint stared at their friend in shock, who only walked away from the bodies as though nothing happened. He walked up to Crabapple and Discord, whispering something to the two. Lastly he walked up to Nigma, staring at him firmly. “Considering everything, I think it’s time you give everypony an explanation.”